The IUPAC Advisory Committee on Crop Protection Chemistry is an international group of volunteers comprised of approximately thirty scientists from academia, industry, government, regulators and private consultancies dealing with crop protection, pesticides and their behavior in food and the environment. The Committee is part of IUPAC Division VI, and we provide, via a project system, unbiased and timely authoritative reports and reviews on topical issues. IUPAC CropChem News is an effort to disseminate committee activities, share information on upcoming events in the crop protection community, and to increase cross-sector dialog on news and discoveries on crop protection.
IUPAC PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Published this month in Nature Nanotechnology, a paper emerging from IUPAC project 2017-035-2-600, co-led jointly by Rai Kookana (CSIRO, Australia) and Linda Johnston (National Research Council, Canada) provides guiding principles for the regulatory evaluation of nanopesticides.
Drawing from their international contacts around the world, the project team worked in close collaboration with industry and government (regulatory agencies) to develop a comprehensive framework for assessing potential human health impacts of nanopesticides. This approach will help overcome potential barriers for regulators and industry globally, taking into account, for example, differing international regulatory requirements as well as community concerns about nanopesticides.
In many countries worldwide, improved regulation and monitoring of new pesticide products has minimised some of the more acute risks (such as those posed by POPs), and has generally led to improved environmental and health management. However, farmers have continued to battle problems with modern pesticides, such as chemical resistance, leaching into the environment and safety to human health. Melanie Kah at the University of Auckland (New Zealand) and a lead author of this paper, commented: “In the past two decades, the research community started looking to chemical alternatives including nanopesticides, which offer a safer and more promising future in their ability to target weeds, worms, mites, ticks, bacteria, and fungi.” Linda Johnston, an expert in quantifying the nature and characteristics of nanoparticles in relation to their potential impact on human health, commented: “Nanopesticides, like other alternatives, are subject to rigorous safety testing to prevent unintended consequences.”
It’s important to note that some types of nanopesticide products are rapidly coming onto the market and have started gaining traction with farmers. “One of the big drawcards of nanopesticides is the protection they offer to plants as well as to the non-target organisms in the environment. This is primarily because of their greater effectiveness and lower toxicity,” explains Kookana, and “They are also known for their improved uptake by plant and reduced wash-off during a rain event.”
… cont. to read the full interview @ https://ecos.csiro.au/nanopesticides/
The framework study focusses on human health risk assessments for nanopesticides, as well as nanofertilisers. Kookana emphasises that the framework doesn’t attempt to provide an exhaustive list of the effect of nanopesticides on humans, or frame nanopesticides as the ‘silver bullet’ of agrichemicals. The hope is it will be used as a starting point for understanding and addressing the concerns about nanopesticides. The paper provides a decision tree and pathway to risk assessment, keeping in mind the different stages of human exposure – at mixing and loading, application and post-application, with each stage involving different dilutions and forms of the pesticide, or exposure opportunities. The framework also helps industry to understand what questions the risk assessor has in mind and what data and information need to be provided to satisfy the regulatory requirements. “Building on the works from previous IUPAC projects, this study is an important step towards an harmonized approach for nanopesticides that can be accepted by regulatory agencies when assessing their toxicological impacts,” says Kookana.
Read full paper in Nature Nanotechnology (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-021-00964-7) via SharedIt
Previous work on ecological risk assessment is published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry (https://doi.org/10.1021/jf500232f) and Nature Nanotechnology (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-018-0131-1)
Project details @ https://iupac.org/project/2017-035-2-600
IUPAC SPONSORED EVENTS
For more details, check out the IUPAC Calendar of Events
7 to 11 November 2021 – CHEMRAWN Ewaste in Africa and the 44TH Annual International Conference (AIC) of the Chemical Society of Nigeria (CSN) are jointly organized as an hybrid event, including virtual and limited-in-person participants. The theme Global Electrical and Electronic Waste: Health Hazards For Africa. Contact: Prince Jay Oritsejolone Oghifo.
16 February 2022 – IUPAC Global Women’s Breakfast – You are invited to the IUPAC Global Women’s Breakfast! The Global Breakfast is an event that happens on a single day in February of each year. The aim is to assist women chemists to expand their network of contacts, both locally and internationally. Women at different stages of their individual careers were encouraged to inform each other about their career progress, and together explore opportunities, in professional development and in research or teaching horizons. Women and men from all types of science organizations come together to share breakfast either virtually or in person. Register your breakfast event today and become part of this inspirational global event. Contact: Laura McConnell. Read more about the GWB in the latest issue of Chemistry International.
IUPAC ENDORSED EVENTS
19 to 27 January 2022 – Performance and Uncertainty in Qualitative Chemical Analysis – The workshop aims to assist laboratories in using the EURACHEM/CITAC Guide titled “Assessment of Performance and Uncertainty in Qualitative Chemical Analysis” to evaluate qualitative analysis results. The guide provides practical guidelines and useful examples for its users.
22 to 25 May 2022 – 19th International Biotechnology Symposium (Maastricht, Netherlands) – The joint IBS2020, ECB2020 and NBC-20 will showcase frontline science that will form the basis for future commercial innovation. The scientific program reveals an excellent line-up of plenary lectures and invited speakers. In line with the IBS and ECB tradition, the participation of young scientists will be promoted by encouraging them to submit original work to be considered for presentation as short talks or posters.
19 to 24 June 2022 – Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Agriculture and Food Systems (Manchester, New Hampshire) – Nano-enabled systems offer new potential technologies toward improving the safety, quality, and sustainability of our agriculture and food systems. In 2020, this 3rd GRC on Nanotechnology for Agriculture and Food Systems will focus on the convergence of nanotechnology with food and agriculture. A community of scientists from around the globe, representing academia, industry, government, and NGOs will assemble to present and discuss cutting edge, unpublished research with other experts in the field. Contact: Melanie Kah
23 to 16 October 2022 – 31st International Symposium on the Chemistry of Natural Products and 11th International Congress on Biodiversity (Naples, Italy)- fantastic opportunity to meet leading scientists from all over the world providing their contribution on various aspects and applications of this long tradition and fascinating area of research of chemistry of natural products and biodiversity science, in the informal and stimulating atmosphere of the venue on the Lungomare of Napoli. Contact: Raffaele Riccio
6 to 10 November 2022 – APCE & CECE – Angkor Wat (Angkor Wat, Cambodia) – Joint Meeting of the 18th Asia Pacific Symposium on Microscale Separation and Analysis and 17th International Interdisciplinary Meeting on Bioanalysis. The theme of the joint conference will be “Better lives through better bioanalytical and environmental analyses“. It is essential to assess the current biomedical and environmental situations correctly before prescribing any remedies. Thus, it is imperative to better the tools to analyze the biomedical and environmental status. One of the themes of the IUPAC organized sessions will be “microplastics in the environment” which draws public concern worldwide recently. The IUPAC sessions will discuss the state of art tools to analyze microplastics in the environment and the current status on health effects of microparticles. Contact: Doo Soo Chung.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
31 October to 5 November – 13th Arab Conference of Plant Protection, Hammamet, Tunisia
14 to 18 November – SETAC North America 42nd Annual Meeting, Virtual Conference
16 to 21 December 2021 – Pacifichem 2021: A Creative Vision for the Future, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
6 to 8 December 2021 – BSPP2021 – Our Plants, Our Future (OPOF) – Joint conference from British Society for Plant Pathology and the European Foundation for Plant Pathology, University of Birmingham, UK.
28 February to 3 March 2022 – 10th International IPM Symposium, Denver, Colorado USA
4 to 6 April 2022 – Pesticide Behaviour in Soils, Water and Air, University of York, UK,
1 to 6 May 2022 – 7th International Congress of Nematology, Antibes Juan-Les-Pins, France.
9 to 12 May 2022 – 1st International Plant Health Conference “Protecting Plant Health in a changing world”, Finland
15 to 19 May 2022 – SETAC Europe 32nd Annual Meeting, Copenhagen, Denmark
22 to 26 May 2022 – Nontarget Analysis for Environmental Risk Assessment, SETAC North America Focused Topic Meeting, Durham, North Carolina, USA
12 to 15 June 2022 – 11th European Conference on Pesticides and Related Organic Micropollutants in the Environment & the 17th Symposium on Chemistry and Fate of Modern Pesticides, Preveza, Greece
21 to 24 June 2022 – ONE – Health, Environment, Society – Conference 2022, Brussels, Belgium
3 to 8 June 2022 – 14th International Conference on Plant-Pathogenic Bacteria, Assisi, Italy
17 to 22 July 2022 – The 26th International Congress of Entomology, Helsinki, Finland
31 July to 5 August 2022 – GLASGOW22, 22nd World Congress of Soil Science, Glasgow, Scotland
21 to 25 August 2022 – 2022 ACS Fall National Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, USA
13 to 15 September 2022 – International Phytobiomes Conference, Denver, CO, USA
4 to 10 December 2022 – 8th International Weed Science Congress “Weed Science in a Climate of Change”, Bangkok, Thailand
14 to 17 March 2023 – 15th IUPAC International Congress of Crop Protection Chemistry, Delhi, India
WEBINARS
UPCOMING
February 16, 2022, What’s happening in the Wild, Wild West of the Hemp and Cannabis Industries?, Thuy Vu, Founder and CEO of Thuy Vu Consulting
RECORDED
Let´s Go Molecular: Bee Pollinator Toxicogenomics Meets Pesticide Risk Assessment, Ralf Nauen, Bayer CropScience, ACS AGRO Lunch and Learn Webinar, October 13, 2021, Noon Eastern US Time
New Herbicide Modes of Action for New Commercial Herbicides – Searching for the Holy Grail, Stephen O. Duke, University of Mississippi, ACS AGRO Lunch and Learn Webinar.
50 Years at EPA, Dr. Dana Vogel, US EPA Office of Pesticide Programs, ACS AGRO Lunch and Learn Webinar
The Journey from Plant Protection to Plant Health – Biological Formulation Prospects, Renaud Perrin and Elodie Shaw, Stephan Company, ACS AGRO Lunch and Learn Webinar
PODCASTS
The Dangerous Campaign Against Genetically Modified Foods, With Val Giddings, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Fungicide Application in Corn, Agronomy and Farm Management, Ohio State University Extension
Designing the Needle: How Gene Editing Can Transform Our Health and Planet , The Tomorrow Farm
Towards Eradicating Malaria: Repurposing Agriculture Agtech for Public Health with the IVCC, AgTech 360
Investing in Innovative Ag and Food Tech Start-Ups with Radicle Growth, AgTech 360
The Future of Artificial Intelligence: Will it be the Terminator or the Jetsons?, Harvard Data Science Initiative
BLOG POSTS
Futurity – Where Food Meets Future, Jack Bobo
REGULATORY HIGHLIGHTS
EUROPEAN FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY
2019 annual report on pesticide residues in food in the EU and associated countries (April 2021)
Slightly more than 96,000 samples were analyzed, part (~13%) of which fell under the controlled program coordinated by the EU (EUCP). In 2% of the EUCP samples, exceedances to the legal limits were reported, leading to actions by the authorities in approximately half of these cases. Based on the data, also a dietary risk assessment had been performed using EFSA’s deterministic PRIMo model for both acute and chronic intake scenarios, of which the outcomes did not raise any concerns
Retrospective dietary risk assessment for cumulative exposure to residues in food from different insecticides with the same mode of action (inhibition of acetylcholinesterase): Using data from national pesticide residue monitoring programs from the years 2016-2018, conservative scenarios were used to estimate the impact of cumulative exposure to residues of multiple acetylcholinesterase-inhibiting pesticides from food and drinking water in different European subpopulations. Whilst the degree of certainty on the outcomes varied, these would not trigger regulatory consideration. A number of recommendations are made for collection of additional basic data and guidance development that would further support the toxicological and exposure assessments of these substances.
Committee on pesticide residues approves new MRLs to CAC44
The Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR)wrapped up its 52nd session advancing new Codex Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for spices, seeds, fruits, and other commodities to the 44th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC44). These limits for pesticide residues in food are established by Codex based on a risk assessment and limits for safe intake set by an FAO/WHO international expert scientific group named Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR).
OTHER REGULATORY AGENCIES
Australia: APVMA to launch webpage on new emerging pest control technologies (e.g. drones used for spraying)
Canada: Three-year plan to ban chlorpyrifos
United Kingdom: The Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020: policy statement
United States: US EPA revoking all “tolerances” for chlorpyrifos, which establish an amount of a pesticide that is allowed on food
World Health Organization: Guidance for licensing pesticides (e.g. transport, import, storage, marketing and specific uses)
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Biobeds in times of COVID-19
The Latin American Network of Biobeds together with the Group for the Analysis of Trace Compounds (GACT) of the Department of Organic Chemistry of the Facultad de Química and the Department of Chemistry of the Litoral, CENUR Litoral Norte de la Universidad de la República (UdelaR), Uruguay with the support of the “Pesticides Project” (MSP-MGAP-MA-FAO-GEF), organized the Workshop “Biobeds in times of COVID-19” which was carried out through a cycle of two virtual meetings on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 December 2020.
The registration fee was waived and an unprecedented number of 201 attendants who came from different fields of activity such as academics, producers, technicians and general public from 12 countries; (Brazil, Spain, Uruguay, Argentina, Panama, Paraguay, Canada, Costa Rica, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Greece and the Netherlands). followed the two-day workshop. The event featured interesting lectures of renowned experts on the subject. The Professors: Dimitrios Karpouzas (Greece), Cristina Zalazar (Argentina), Carlos Rodríguez (Costa Rica), Cristina Diez-Gerez (Chile), Anisleidy Rivero and Natalia Besil, (Uruguay) Luciano Gebler and Rafael Rohers (Brazil) and Esperanza Romero (Spain) gave very interesting, state of the art lectures and had a fruitful exchange with the participants. Moreover, young scientists presented several e-posters, that together with the conferences are available on-line.
The workshop, which was intended to be organized face-to-face in 2020 in Montevideo, was the fourth Biobeds Meeting in Latin America and takes place within the framework of the Ibero-American Network of Biobeds. Although the attendants were almost all from Latin America, we have always had the participation of leading experts on the subject of pesticide bioremediation using Biobeds from Europe, Canada and the USA. This year the difficulties posed by the pandemic gave the organizers a positive contribution by allowing several participants from different parts of the world to sign up and participate as well as a number of international speakers accepted to be part of the event. The progress on the subject in the two years that have elapsed since it was carried out in Brazil was surprising. FAO’s support in the organization was excellent. Through its interactive platform, a fluid exchange of knowledge that allows the strengthening and expansion of the links between the scientific-technological community working on the subject.
It is noteworthy that the event held online had the support of the Latin American Network of Biobeds, which was founded by the representatives of the countries that participated in the “I Latin American Workshop on Biobeds” held in Chile in 2012, after which successive encounters took place. Undoubtedly, the event consolidates and expands the Network that will assure the dissemination and implementation of Biobeds in Ibero-America promoting and helping to achieve various Sustainable Development objectives of the 2030 Agenda.
International Scientific Committee: Drs. Natalia Besil, Verónica Cesio, Carmen Dicklow, María Cristina Diez-Gerez, Luciano Gebler, Horacio Heinzen, Silvina Niell, Ionara Pizzuti, Anisleidy Rivero, Carlos Rodríguez, Cristina Zalazar and Gonzalo Tortella. The Organizing Committee Uruguay had the support and commitment of all the members of the Group for the Analysis of Trace Contaminants (GACT) and that from Agr Engs. Sebastián Viroga, Sebastián Falco, Gabriel Guala, Dr. Emillio Righi and the MSc. Samantha Stebniki from the FAO Pesticides Project Uruguay.
It was an honor and a pleasure to have been the organizer country of the IV Workshop of Biobeds in times of COVID-19 and we expect to meet you all in two years in Costa Rica.
On behalf of the Scientific and Organizing Committee,
Dra. María Verónica Cesio, Universidad de la República de Uruguay, Workshop Chair
PROJECTS
The Fruit Fly In-silico Prevention and Management (FF-IPM) project targets three highly polyphagous fruit fly (FF) species (Tephritidae) that cause devastating losses in the fresh fruit producing industry. The project aims to introduce “in silico” supported prevention, detection and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches for both new and emerging FF, based on spatial modelling across a wide range of spatial levels, novel decision support systems, and new knowledge regarding biological traits of the target species, fruit trading and socioeconomics.
The overarching objective of the SuperPests project is to develop and evaluate a suite of innovative products, tools and concepts, and integrate these with existing approaches using data driven mathematical models, to achieve effective and sustainable Integrated Pest Management (IPM) of the “super pests”, thereby reducing the use of pesticides in the fruit and vegetable sectors.
BIOBESTicide (BIO-Based pESTicides) production for sustainable agriculture management plan) is a European project funded by the H2020 – BBI JU programme. With a consortium of 10 partners from all over Europe and a duration of 3 years, the project will validate and demonstrate the production of an effective and cost-efficient biopesticide.
SPRINT is based on a multi-actor approach to engage stakeholders and identify needs, improving farmer and citizen awareness, joint development of novel strategies for reduced reliance on PPP use. SPRINT consists of 9 interlinked work packages. The distribution and the impacts of PPP on environmental, plant, animal and human health will be evaluated at 10 EU case study sites (CSS) and one CSS in Argentina.
The IPM Decisions project will create an online platform that is easy to use for the monitoring and management of pests. This platform will give farmers and advisers access to a large range of existing Decision Support Systems for their regional conditions.
Safe drinking water is vital for human health. Diffuse pollution of nitrogen and pesticides from agriculture is the main obstacle to meet drinking water quality targets. The objective of FAIRWAY project is to review approaches for protection of drinking water resources against pollution by pesticides and nitrate, and to identify and further develop innovative measures and governance approaches for a more effective drinking water protection.
The LIFE AgRemSO3il pilot project aims to develop new innovative technology, at a large farm-scale, using agrochemical remediation in farm soils by combining solarization and ozonation in situ.
JOURNAL SPOTLIGHT
The Journal of Pesticide Science (JPS) is the journal of the Pesticide Science Society of Japan (PSSJ). The JPS publishes the results of original research regarding the chemistry and biochemistry of pesticides (insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides) and other agrochemicals. The JPS was accepted as a PubMed Central (PMC) journal in October 2018, and publications in the JPS can be found via PubMed search dating back to 2016 (Vol. 41, No. 1). The JPS was also listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) in January 2020. The impact factor (IF) of JPS is gradually increasing, being 1.519 for 2020.
The research topics covered in this journal have changed considerably during the past half century. The papers published in the first issue of Vol. 1 (1976) were mainly related to useful pesticides such as gamma BHC, sumithion, malathion, polyoxin, pyrethroids, and benthiocarb. However, in the recent publications the number of the study of environmental science is gradually increasing. Of course, the discovery studies of novel pesticides have been continuously published from the pesticide companies. In the recent discovery study, in silico technologies such as computer-based rational design, high-throughput screening, and virtual screening have been introduced.
During my Editor-In-Chief term, two special issues were edited. One is for “Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs: 2 reviews, 7 original papers and 1 note)” in 2018 and the other is for “Insect Growth Regulators (IGRs: 1 commentary, 5 reviews, 8 regular articles, and 1 brief report)” in 2021. These growth regulators are not much attractive for users due to their slow action, but they may become important in future due to their high specificity to the targets and their safeness in both mammals and environmental organisms. Of course, some PGRs and IGRs are already used as agrochemicals in the world.
The new editorial team started in April 2021 under Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Kazuhiro Takagi, who is the member of National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) and studying the environmental fate and residue analysis of pesticides. He is the planning to edit another special issue, relating to the environmental issue. Natural products including peptides, glycopeptides, and nucleotides might be candidates of new pesticides in the next generation.
Dr. Yoshiaki Nakagawa, Former Editor-in-Chief of JPS
JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS
REGULATORY
Reforming EU Pesticides Regulation, Rebuilding Public Support: Evidence from Survey Experiments in Six Member States – EU pesticide approval procedure amenable to public confidence if certain conditions are fulfilled:
Effects of insecticides on mortality, growth and bioaccumulation in black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae – Feed for growing insect larvae (black soldier fly) may contain toxic levels of residues under current limits.
Impacts of the regulatory environment for gene editing on delivering beneficial products – provides a shortoverview of plant breeding and the history of plant biotechnology policy development, the different classes of current regulatorysystems and their use of exemptions and exclusions for genome-edited plants, and the potential benefits of such approaches as itrelates to achieving societal goals.
Residues of glyphosate in food and dietary exposure – The objectives of this review are to: (1) review the assays available for measuring glyphosate in food, water, beverages, and urine; (2) review reports of testing glyphosate in food or urine, and convert these values to estimates of exposure; and (3) put these exposure estimates into context by comparing them to health-based guidance values used to assess risk.
Applied pesticide toxicity shifts toward plants and invertebrates, even in GM crops – Schulz et al. looked at 381 pesticides by considering 1591 substance-specific acute toxicity threshold values over the last 25 years. They found that despite decreasing total amounts applied and decreased impacts on vertebrates, toxicity—in particular to insects and aquatic invertebrates—has increased substantially.
Stacked Trait Products Are As Safe As Non-Genetically Modified (GM) Products Developed By Conventional Breeding Practices – In this rapid communication Authors focus on the scientific rationale that additional regulatory oversight and further safety assessment of stacked trait products produced through conventional breeding, where the individual traits have already been assessed and approved, is unnecessary.
INNOVATION IN CROP PROTECTION
Integrated pest management: good intentions, hard realities. A review –
The latest issue of the journal ACS Agricultural Science and Technology is out. Papers are being accepted now for a special issue on “Gene Editing for Sustainable Agriculture” the deadline for submissions is October 31.
Special Collection: Drones to Improve Insect Pest Management – The Journal of Economic Entomology published a special collection of papers discussing research and development of unmanned (or uncrewed) aircraft system technology to improve insect pest management. The collection featuring both newly released and recently published research, gathers examples illustrating both the progress and potential of drone technology in insect pest management settings.
BOOKS
Pesticides, Organic Contaminants, and Pathogens in Air: Chemodynamics, Health Effects, Sampling, and Analysis, James N Seiber and Thomas M. Cahill
The air is an important but largely unrecognized source of contaminant fate in the environment, including transport of pesticides and contaminants to nontarget areas and exposures for people and wildlife. This book summarizes and places in perspective the potential transport, transformation, and health implications of pesticides and contaminants in air, including the air we breathe. It delves into the hypothesis that the atmosphere is the most significant environmental compartment affecting the overall transport and fate of many classes of environmental contaminants.
CropChem News contains regular sections on events, project highlights, selected articles, success stories and selected topics around new developments in crop protection and sustainable agriculture. Constructive feedback and recommendations are welcome.
EDITORIAL TEAM
Editor: Dr. Zisis Vryzas of Democritus University of Thrace
Editorial Team: Dr. ir. Gijs A. Kleter, Wageningen Food Safety Research, Wageningen University and Research
Editorial Team: Dr. Laura L. McConnell, Bayer Crop Science, Advisory Committee Chair