A Manual on Pesticides Used in Cocoa - icco.org SPS Africa Workshop... · A Manual on Pesticides Used in Cocoa RPB 2013; Cocoa_Pesticides_Abidjan13 v. 1.0 Roy Bateman, International

A Manual on Pesticides Used in Cocoa

RPB 2013; Cocoa_Pesticides_Abidjan13 v. 1.0

Roy Bateman,

International Pesticide Application Research Consortium (IPARC), UK

Abidjan, 11 December 2013

Achieving sustainable intensification?

Pesticides subject of debate …

Controversy, various stakeholders

Why a manual?

Specific advice requested from ICCO member countriesNeglected subject, no existing manual focusing on pesticide issues in cocoa1st edition (August 2008) - focus on W. Africa and new EU/Japan regulations2nd edition: finalised March 2010

… emphasis on Africa and EU, because:

http://www.icco.org/statistics/cocoamap.pdf

3rd Edition : update 2013

Free to down-load on www.icco.org/SPS

Regular online updates (especially pesticide lists) –3-4 times /year

Complicated and inter-disciplinary, so…

3rd Edition (end 2013)

Updates (and corrections!)

New section on pesticide application

Re-organisation with main sections on

– The major pesticide groups

– Other quality issues

More on Latin American issues

Finalised version for translation: French (and other languages?)

Contents1. Introduction (regulatory)

2. Pesticides and their properties

3. Safety, residues (and how to manage them)

4. Application methods

5. Good agricultural practices

6. Good warehouse practices

7. Recommendations

Appendices including:

– Active substance (AI) lists - not products – based on literature, CABI surveys, etc.

– National regulatory responsibilities

Background

“How to do?”

Recommendations

Principal management issues:

• phytosanitation

• (limited) efficacy of control

agents

The Moniliophthora diseases

• Witches’ broom

Moniliophthora (Crinipellis)

perniciosa

• Frosty pod rot (FPR)

Moniliophthora roreri

Regular updates (especially pesticide lists) on: http://www.dropdata.org/cocoa/cocoa_SPS_blog.htm

Pesticide lists: Appendix 3 becoming more complicated: global scope, 1st Edition had 2 categories (useful / do not use)

A. ‘Strategic list’ for key pests (effectively recommendations, EU/Japanese/US import tolerances and evidence of efficacy)

B. Compounds to be used with great CAUTION (major issues, limited time remaining, etc)

C. Lists of experimental control agents for possible future inclusion in category ‘A’

D. Pesticides that MUST NOT BE USED for cocoa

Continuously, issues arise …Neo-nicotinoidcontroversy then EU moratorium in 2013

Bee hives commonly encountered in cocoa gardens

… but bees not the most important natural pollinators …

Natural Pollination

Courtesy Sarah Arnold (NRI)see: http://www.cocoapop.eu

Pollinators

Entwistle (1972):

“It is doubtful if the effects of insecticides on insect pollination of cocoa or on the pollination mechanism have been adequately investigated”

Since 2010

***

Source: Kenji Kaminaga, Kuala Lumpur, 2011

… so would it be appropriate to place some NNI insecticides (e.g.imidacloprid) in category B: ‘Recommend/use with great caution’?

For discussion this afternoon.!

Certification

“… conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behaviour.”

Code of Conduct covering GAP, social and environmental criteria; certification.

Labour, economic, environmental and phytosanitary standards: GAP, maintenance of soil fertility and water resources; no GMOs

• putting farmers “at the centre”; improving incomes; transparency; traceability for consumers

Quality and food safety in CertificationHow the different codes address quality

Industry UTZ Rainforest

Alliance

FAIR

TRADE

Physical quality

Flavour quality

Mitigation of FFAs

Mitigation of

pesticide residues

Minimising PAH

Minimising Ota

Traceability/lot

integrity/fumigation

Courtesy Martin Gilmour

Responsible Pesticide Use (RPU)a sub-set of GAP and IPM:

How to apply?

What to apply?

When to

apply?

targeting …

Application issues

Minimum requirements,‘Intermediate technology’ needed?

A reference

The Manual now covers techniques for cocoa

Hitting the target …

How much spray lands on the biological target?

Extension message: “spray run-off”?

Smallholders: variable cone nozzles>90% of sprayers use these in some countries …

… are impossible to calibrate reliably !!

‘squirting’ - extremely inefficient …

… and makes poor canopy management appear legitimate …

Extension message No 1 ...... pods must be accesible

Tall trees are difficult:

to monitor

to harvest

to spray !

cou

rtes

y J.

Co

op

er, N

RI

Double rateLabel rateHalf rate

time after applicationPHI

MRL

(axes are linear)

Pesticide breakdownAvoiding illegal residues:

Pre-Harvest Intervals

Application → dosage

Do

se o

n ‘t

arge

t’ (e.g

. po

d)

If farmers can’t calibrate their sprayers, how do they know if they are under/over dosing?

Variable cone nozzles:

designed-in Bad Agricultural Practice?

Variable nozzle variability:

What not to recommend to a farmer !

Output from 3 variable cone nozzles

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

0 1 2 3 4 5

number of turns

flo

w r

ate

L.m

in-1

0

150

300

450

600

750

VM

D, -D

v,0

.1 +

Dv,0

.9 (

µm

)

flow A flow B flow C VMD - nozzle A VMD - nozzle B VMD - nozzle C

Sprayer standards: FAO minimum guidelines

“Nozzles supplied with or recommended for a sprayer should be manufactured to international standards (ISO).“The sprayer manufacturer should include in the sprayer manual, information on: nozzle flow rates, characteristic spray patterns and spray angles … ”

http://www.dropdata.org

2x - 3x dose transfer

efficiency?

Bateman (2004) Crop

Protection, 23: 989 - 999

The ‘Cocoa Nozzle’ conceptA recipe not a product

Narrow cone

Fixed setting

Optimised droplet size

Application with motorised mistblowers

Spray projected up taller trees

Small droplets to maximise coverage …

… but settings not optimised in practice.

Ph

oto

s:

Nic

k J

esso

p

RecommendationsStrategic cocoa pesticides– Regional recommendations?

Capacity building for applied R&D in crucial areas (e.g. alternatives to phostoxin?)Communication: putting rational pesticide use “on the agenda” (FFS etc.)National responsibilities and “re-skilling”– Pesticide knowledge– Application techniques

Harmonisation of standards byimporting countries

www.dropdata.org/cocoa/cocoa_SPS_blog.htm

‘Next generation’ of pesticide scientists?

SAS ↔ T o T o T?

Final revision for January 2013

Many thanks (in advance) for your attention, help, ideas and comments

Download from:http://www.icco.org/SPS