Reduced-Risk Strategy for Pest Management in Greenhouse Floriculture

Preface

Pesticide risk reduction strategies are developed under the Pesticide Risk Reduction Program (PRRP), a joint initiative of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) of Health Canada. The key objective of the program is to reduce the risks to the environment and to human health from pesticide use in agriculture. To achieve this objective, the Program works with grower groups, industry, provinces, and researchers to identify gaps in pest management and opportunities for pesticide risk reduction, and to develop and implement strategies to address these.

A pesticide risk reduction strategy is a detailed plan developed through consultation with stakeholders aiming to address grower needs for reduced-risk management tools and practices for specific priority pest issues. The strategy document presented herein, is intended to update stakeholders on the activities supported by the Program in developing and implementing the strategy and new tools and practices made available through this process. The strategy also provides baseline information and enables tracking of advancements in pesticide risk reduction.

For more information on the activities and outcomes of the Program's strategy work to date, visit the Pest Management Centre website.

Acknowledgement

The Pesticide Risk Reduction Program acknowledges all participating stakeholders for their contribution and collaboration in the development and implementation of a reduced-risk strategy for greenhouse floriculture. In particular the program recognizes the contributions of the Greenhouse Floriculture Working group including: co-chair Cary Gates (Flowers Canada Growers), Garry Watson (Flowers Canada Growers), Dean Shoemaker (Flowers Canada Growers), Graeme Murphy (OMAFRA), Wayne Brown (OMAFRA), David Woodske (BCMAF), Regis Larouche (Quebec Institute for the Development of Ornamental Horticulture), Cynthia Scott-Dupree (University of Guelph), Deborah Henderson (Kwantlen College), Albert Grimm (Jeffery's Greenhouses), Michael Brownbridge (Vineland Research and Innovation Centre), Imme Gerke and Chi Tran (Health Canada - PMRA).

Introduction

This document reports on the development of a pesticide risk reduction strategy for the greenhouse floriculture industry in Canada. The objective of this strategy is to reduce risks to human health and the environment associated with pesticide use in greenhouse floriculture production. The strategy document presented here summarizes the framework and activities supported by the Pesticide Risk Reduction Program in implementing the greenhouse floriculture strategy.

The preliminary work for the development of this strategy was conducted through an industry led project with funding provided by the Pesticide Risk Reduction Program. Flowers Canada Growers (the national organization representing the interests of floriculture growers), consulted with stakeholders across the country through face to face meetings, teleconferences and surveys. These consultations provided an important benchmark of current pest management issues and practices within the industry and identified opportunities for pesticide risk reduction in floriculture. After project completion, a floriculture expert working group was established to refine goals for risk reduction and move an action plan forward.

Greenhouse floriculture production is an important industry in Canada. In 2009 flowers and plants accounted for 48.9% of the greenhouse sector. In this same year there were 2,130 greenhouses in Canada specializing in floriculture, with a total of more than 8.8 M square meters dedicated to floriculture. The industry directly employed 23,405 people and generated $1.4 billion in sales (Greenhouse, Sod and Nursery Industries - 2009 Statistics Canada).

Pest management issues in the floriculture greenhouse environment are complicated as growers must balance an extremely diverse number of crops, each with their own pest issues. In addition, the greenhouse growing environment also presents unique regulatory issues. To be an economically competitive industry while contributing positively to sustainability, Canadian floriculture growers must be innovative in their approach to pest management. Access to more reduced risk products and development of new technologies as well as access to information on how to incorporate these and existing techniques into an integrated pest management approach are important to ensure the competitiveness of sector nationally and internationally.

Pest Management and Pesticide Risk Reduction Issues

Key pest management issues identified through stakeholder consultations led by the Flowers Canada Growers project team as areas of concern to be addressed by this strategy include:

Lack of pest control products

To ensure older chemistries meet modern health and environmental safety standards the national regulator, PMRA (Pest Management Regulatory Agency) officially launched the re-evaluation program in 2001. As a result of this process some products have been voluntarily discontinued by the registrant, some have had ornamental uses removed from the label and some active ingredients are being phased out of use, creating a need for more, lower risk products suitable for inclusion in an IPM program. Many of the current products registered for greenhouse floriculture uses are older chemistries, and results of the survey by Flowers Canada Growers indicated that some growers no longer feel these work well. More effective, lower risk products such as biopesticides and biological control tools using beneficial arthropods are needed to replace the lost uses and also to develop sound resistance management strategies.

Biological control is an important pest management alternative and an integral component of IPM for greenhouse growers. This approach is already well accepted by the industry with 90% of the surveyed growers indicating they use these methods to some degree in their operation. As more uses are lost through re-evaluation and pest resistance there is an opportunity for more biological control systems to be developed and implemented and to increase their overall use. This also leads to the need to determine biocompatibility of various products with beneficial arthropods and identify those which are most suitable for inclusion in an IPM system.

Lack of adequate pest management technologies

Pesticide application methods can significantly affect how much actual product is applied and the degree of plant coverage achieved in a greenhouse. More efficient methods of pesticide application are needed which can reduce the total amount of pesticide used, while providing a higher degree of targeted control. Some novel application techniques have been developed for other crops: however there is a gap in knowledge as to which techniques could be applicable for greenhouse floriculture. More information on how to incorporate existing application technologies into greenhouse floriculture IPM systems is needed.

Some new pest prevention technologies for greenhouse floriculture pests are currently under development. By preventing pests from establishing in the greenhouse the need for pesticides to control these pests later in the season can be reduced. Further work in this area is required to expand upon what is known and develop a suitable approach for a variety of pest species and their related hosts.

Insufficient communication and extension support

IPM strategies are often complicated and require a high level of commitment and know-how from the grower to be implemented. While much knowledge on reduced risk techniques in floriculture is available, this is not always transferred effectively or made easily accessible to the grower. According to survey results, growers make good use of what information is available; however, growers across the country have different access to extension personnel and technical support. Information needs to be consolidated, kept up-to-date/current and made accessible to all growers in Canada. In addition, more opportunities for face to face interactions with researchers, extension experts and other greenhouse floriculture growers could help to increase uptake of reduced risk techniques.

Expert Working Group

A national floriculture pesticide risk reduction working group was established by the Pesticide Risk Reduction Program in the fall of 2010. The working group includes growers and grower representatives, researchers, provincial extension experts and federal regulators. Through discussions the group refined the outline of the strategic goals and action plan and identified potential projects to reach these goals. These discussions also provide an important platform for collaboration opportunities among stakeholders. The group has held 4 meetings to date at which all the goals identified in the original strategy were discussed. By working across multiple levels in the private and public sector a collective outcome towards risk reduction that responds to economic, environmental and social needs of Canadians is expected.

Strategic Action Plan

The strategic goals and action plan for reduced risk pest management in greenhouse floriculture are based on the original report prepared by Flowers Canada Growers and were refined through discussions with the working group. The strategy provides a framework for activity by identifying goals, targets, milestones, and implementation projects to move the plan forward. The three goals of the floriculture strategic plan are: i) Improve access to new lower risk pest control products ii) Develop new reduced risk pest management tools, technologies and integrated systems and iii) Promote and facilitate adoption of reduced risk techniques.

Strategy Outcomes

In summary, the major outcomes expected from the implementation of the reduced-risk strategy for greenhouse floriculture include:

• New biological control approaches and improved access to more reduced risk products for the control of pests in greenhouse floriculture production
• New application and prevention technologies which allow for targeted and integrated control of greenhouse pests while reducing risk from pesticides
• Improved access to high quality IPM information by growers, making growers more knowledgeable about implementation of IPM in the Canadian floriculture greenhouse.

It is anticipated that in combination, these outcomes will help greenhouse floriculture growers reduce reliance on pesticides while remaining an economically competitive industry. At the same time, ongoing discussion among greenhouse floriculture stakeholders through this strategy work provides a platform for discussion and exchange on greenhouse pest management issues and solutions.

This report is a living document and will be updated periodically as new information becomes available.