WERA_OLD060: Management of Pesticide Resistance
Statement of Issues and Justification
Resistance to insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, rodenticides, and bactericides continue to pose severe problems in agriculture and public health. Moreover, the broad-scale use of transgenic plants has significantly increased selection for resistance to specific biopesticides and herbicides. As a consequence, resistance evolution 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. Despite predictions to the contrary, pesticide resistance cases are continuing to grow and expand rapidly (see http://www.pesticideresistance.org/). 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 tools. This is due in part to single-site mode of action mechanisms which pests may be able to adapt to more readily than to older multi-site mode of action management tools.Successfully dealing with resistance is enhanced by 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. However, at this stage in the development of this committee, the members have chosen to focus primarily on applied research and extension related to monitoring resistance and implementing resistance management strategies and tactics in the field. In this way, 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 the different agricultural disciplines, geographic regions, and systems. This is a unique opportunity for cross discipline information exchange around a specific set of cross linked topics, in a time when professional conferences and committees are tending to become more narrowly discipline focused.
Through discussion of resistance issues, members will gain unique interdisciplinary perspectives to guide their individual research, extension, and teaching efforts. Similarly, 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; this 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 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 the current arthropod standard in pesticide resistance case reporting worldwide. The APRD published numerous summary tables that are updated instantly as new cases are reviewed and published in the database. In 2006, the database received over 540,000 queries lasting 10 minutes or longer. This resource is being used both by US EPA, 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.
This committee has many stakeholders. First are the growers served directly or indirectly by committee members. Each member will be better able to address the resistance issues occurring in their areas with the broad perspective of resistance management gained through discussion with other members, and with ideas about resistance detection, monitoring, impact assessment, and management approaches from other disciplines. Improved pest management resulting from better management of resistance means better profitability for growers and stable supply of quality produce for consumers. Additional stakeholders are those making regulatory decisions about pesticides, including US EPA, and chemical industries because we can provide the science-based information about pesticide resistance that they need. Members of this group have just started working together on a CAST request for an issue paper.
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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