Methyl Bromide Phase-Out Means Heavy Losses

March 30, 2000

USDA's Economic Research Service has issued a study that shows the methyl bromide phase-out will cause "substantial, short-term losses" to producers and consumers of crops treated with the fumigant. Those losses will be mitigated when effective alternatives are on the market, and although alternatives do exist, there are regulatory restrictions at the federal and state levels that could limit or ban their use.

Methyl bromide has been used for more than 50 years to control insects, nematodes, pathogens and weeds. It is used for soil fumigation before planting many fruits, vegetables, ornamentals and agricultural nursery stock; for post-harvest fumigation of commodities in storage prior to shipment, and for government-required quarantine treatment to prevent the spread of regulated exotic pests.

But under the Montreal Protocol, methyl bromide is being phased out internationally. More than 160 countries signed the protocol to protect the ozone layer that protests the earth from harmful solar radiation. The current phase-out schedule was adopted in 1997. The United States is to phase it out in 2005.

The ERS study says the most likely alternative for most pre-plant uses is Telone or chloropicrin in combination with another pesticide such as pebulate, riaproparnide or metam sodium. Phosphine is the most likely alternative for post-harvest use on dried fruits and nuts.

There also is a variety of non-chemical alternatives such as solarization, a technique that uses solar heat trapped by plastic film to suppress pests on various crops.

"Most studies of alternatives that measure performance in terms of yield have focused on Florida tomatoes and California strawberries," the study points out. "As a result there is more uncertainty about the relative performance of potential alternatives for other vegetables, orchard crops, vineyards, ornamentals and nursery crops."

California has township-level limits for Telone use and may limit other alternatives as well. Without methyl bromide or Telone, growers say, they could not sell nursery stock if nematodes were found in the soil.

In Florida, Telone use is restricted in 31 counties to certain soil conditions to protect ground water.

There also are stringent federal personal protective equipment requirements for workers who handle Telone. Florida growers may find it difficult to recruit labor to wear the equipment in hot weather, says the report.

The net loss to consumers and producers from not being able to use methyl bromide for selected pre-plant uses has been projected to be $400-500 million; $150-200 million for annual, $140 million for perennial crops and $100 million for ornamentals and nurseries, excluding forest nurseries.

"Efforts are underway to design transition strategies to help producers adjust to the methyl bromide phase-out and lessen its impact," ERS says. "Research to develop and demonstrate new alternatives, and ways to use currently available alternatives more effectively, continues."

USDA and the Environmental Protection Agency are working with researchers and users to identify pesticides that might need label or registration changes to make them available to growers.