WERA060: Management of Pesticide Resistance
Statement of Issues and Justification
The development of resistance to insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, rodenticides, and bactericides continues to be a significant threat in agricultural production and public health. Despite predictions to the contrary, pesticide resistance cases are continuing to grow and expand rapidly (see http://www.pesticideresistance.org/). Resistance has become an important consideration in the pesticide regulatory process, both in the U.S. and internationally. Pesticide resistance and its management have considerable economic implications in this country and abroad. Resistance is expected to remain one of the most important problems in pest management because selection pressure generated at the population level from recently introduced active ingredients may exceed older, more broad spectrum pesticides. This is due in part to the development and release of pesticides with single-site mode of actions which pests may be able to adapt to more readily than to older pesticides with multi-sites of action.Successfully managing resistance requires information from multiple disciplines, including evolution, population and molecular genetics, biochemistry, physiology, and ecology. Additionally, studies of economics, sociology and other social sciences can make important contributions to resistance monitoring and management. This committee has chosen to focus primarily on applied research and extension activities to monitor resistance evolution and implement resistance management strategies and tactics in the field. In this manner, the committee intends to build and maintain internal cohesion and a focused agenda. This group will provide an opportunity for dialogue amongst applied researchers and extension specialists working on resistance in different disciplines, geographic regions, and systems. This is a unique opportunity for individuals from different disciplines to exchange information across specific topics, in a time when professional conferences and committees are tending to become more narrowly discipline focused.
Through the discussion of resistance issues, members will gain unique interdisciplinary perspectives to guide their individual research, extension, and teaching efforts. Similarly, the exchange of information regarding implementation of resistance management strategies in different regions and systems can be extremely valuable. Discussion with other researchers and extension specialists is the best means to obtain a broad perspective about resistance and its management, which is not easily obtained by reading literature in other disciplines. With this perspective plus an understanding of strategies being used in other disciplines, the members of this group can gain new ideas and are better able to address resistance issues occurring in their individual areas. Discussion will focus on implementation of resistance detection and management programs bringing in broader perspectives when possible. We are a highly heterogeneous, interdisciplinary (entomology, weed science, and plant pathology) group of scientists with research and extension responsibilities.
In addition to information sharing among members, this group also serves a critical role in communicating with the chemical industry and government regulators. Previous activities of this group included a congressional briefing on pesticide resistance and a meeting with US EPA staff to discuss pesticide resistance and regulations.
Another important contribution of the committee was the recognition of the need to create the Arthropod Pesticide Resistance Database (APRD) and the Resistant Pest Management Newsletter. Both have continued to grow in importance since their creation indicating their importance to stakeholders. While key leadership came from Michigan State University and the database and newsletter are maintained on computers at Michigan State, members of this group have continued to assist with promoting and providing information for APRD and the Newsletter and serve as editors for articles submitted to the Newsletter.
The APRD has become most complete database on resistant organisms in the world. It is our intention that this effort to report arthropod pesticide resistance should contribute to the design of better alternatives for resistance pest management; and contribute to the worlds effort to reduce hunger, improve human and animal health and food security. The APRD published numerous summary tables that are updated instantly as new cases are reviewed and published in the database. The database is frequently visited, we have recorded about 500,000 visits lasting 10 minutes or longer annually. This resource is being used both by USEPA, USDA, EU, and industry (IRAC International) authorities as well as pest managers in the US and internationally for resistance reporting for pesticide registration and pesticide reregistration processes as well as recommendations in resistance management. In addition, the database is becoming the worlds standard for reporting resistance cases because resistance workers the world over can easily submit cases on-line (usually in less than 15 minutes) to an editorial panel of case editors who are recognized resistance authorities for direct inclusion and reporting in the APRD. The APRD now has 574 species and 10,000 cases of pesticide resistance. Conventional insecticides made up about 85.2% of the total resistance cases.
The Resistant Pest Management (RPM) Newsletter was developed to publish knowledge of resistance around the world. The goal of the RPM Newsletter is to inform researchers, industry workers, pesticide policy bureaucrats and field personnel worldwide of ongoing changes and advances in pesticide resistance management. It also provides an archival resource to national and international policy leaders, and enhances communication of ideas among resistance managers worldwide. Since its 1989 inception, the Newsletter has published over 650 articles. The Bi-annual publication has over 1,100 electronic subscribers (mostly in government, industry and academia), and hard copies are now part of 58 library serial listings globally. Example countries with serial listings include the United States, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, India, Japan, Taiwan, Egypt, Kenya, Costa Rica, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, etc.
The public as consumers are the ultimate stake holders. Pest management is essential for production in all biological systems. By evidence of example, pesticides are the most effective and economic means of pest control, hence they are consistently chosen by managers to control pests. Maintenance of the utility of safe, effective pesticides is in the national interest, the public interest, and the interest of all participants in agricultural production and those who utilize the products of agricultural production - food, feed, fiber, and wood products.
Without the existence of this committee, an important cross discipline forum for discussion and information exchange will be lost. Committee interactions provide individual members access to a much broader knowledge and experience base from which to better serve stakeholders. The existence of the committee also provides a pipeline through which resistance management issues can come to the attention of legislators, US EPA staff, and others.
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