Guangzhou City got rid of 9.89 tonnes of cowpeas containing pesticide residues

Recently, Guangzhou City has got rid of 9.89 tonnes of cowpeas supplied by Yacheng Town in Hainan Province; due to the abnormal pesticide residues on eight samples of a batch of cowpeas had been detected. CCM reported this news in its latest issue of Insecticides China News of February. Below is the whole text:

From 29-30 Jan., 2013, Guangzhou Jiangnan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market (Guangzhou Jiangnan, located in Guangzhou City) found abnormal pesticide residues on some samples of cowpeas, according to the result of routine tests. Consequently, Guangzhou Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Supervision Institute retested this batch of cowpeas. It confirmed that eight samples of this batch of cowpeas contained pesticide residues of carbofuran and omethoate. In fact, carbofuran and omethoate are banned from application on vegetables in China.

As revealed by an investigation, this batch of cowpeas including unqualified samples with pesticide residues was supplied by Yacheng Town, Hainan Province, with a total volume of 9.89 tonnes. Guangzhou Jiangnan has already removed the batch of cowpeas from Yacheng Town. Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture of Guangdong Province announced that it will enhance the detection of agricultural products in the market to ensure public health.

In fact, it is not the first time that cowpeas from Yacheng Town have been detected to contain forbidden pesticide residues in the past three years. The same incident once happened concerning cowpeas supplied by Yacheng Town in Feb., 2010, which urged Hainan Province to enhance the market management of highly toxic pesticides. Hainan Province has established 225 agricultural product quality testing service stations and 18 vegetable quality testing service stations to detect pesticide residues on agricultural products in the past three years. However, due to the decentralized small-scale production of cowpeas, it can't be guaranteed that all farmers won't use highly toxic pesticides. It is reported that the product quality testing service stations in Hainan only detected a portion of the agricultural products sent to other regions, as they don't possess the ability to detect all the samples from every cowpea producer due to a lack of staff and the large number of small-scale cowpea producers. Thus, some products with highly toxic pesticide residues have not been detected.

According to an insider of Guangzhou Academy of Agricultural Science, cowpea farmers in Yacheng Town apply carbofuran and omethoate for the control of maruca vitrata, a pantropical insect pest infecting leguminous crops. As maruca vitrata can breed inside the cowpeas, it is not easy to be killed by low toxicity pesticides. Moreover, the hot climate in Hainan Province facilitates the reproduction of maruca vitrata resulting in 7-8 generations per year. In contrast, it generally reproduces 2-3 generations per year in Shandong Province. Thus, superimposed multiple generations and resistance to insecticides could easily be caused in Hainan Province, which would hinder cowpea production greatly. Hence, farmers tend to use carbofuran and omethoate which are systemic pesticides with high toxicity to maruca vitrata.

Furthermore, few valid insecticide registrations are registered for cowpeas or maruca vitrata, which can't meet farmers' requirements for the control of maruca vitrata. According to the Institute for the Control of Agrichemicals, Ministry of Agriculture, there were 13 insecticide registrations for the control of maruca vitrata as of 2 Feb., 2013, with three kinds of products, namely fenvalerate EC, cypermethrin+chlopyrifos EC and lufenuron EC. Among these 13 registrations, none are for cowpeas. This is another reason why farmers in Yacheng Town choose highly toxic insecticides.

In view of the facts mentioned above, it is not sufficient to only enhance pesticide market management and supervision concerning highly toxic pesticide restriction. Guiding policies and work are supposed to achieve more effectiveness. Hainan Province is suggested to introduce a pesticide registration subsidy policy to attract agrochemical companies to introduce effective insecticides with low toxicity for cowpeas. Additionally, it is advised that demonstration cowpea planting fields be established to demonstrate new pesticide applications.

Table Contents of Insecticides China News 1302:

China releases substitute list to replace toxic, harmful materials and products

Water bamboo receive pesticide registration subsidy in Zhejiang Province

Guangzhou City got rid of 9.89 tonnes of cowpeas containing pesticide residues

China reveals plan to develop the bio-industry, including bio-pesticides

Chlorfenapyr develops slowly in China

New acaricide cyflumetofen introduced to China

CAS and Henan Sidley establish bio-engineering R&D centre in Henan Province

Registrations of indoxacarb are increasing fast

Review new registrations of insecticide formulations in 2012

Price Update Table                                                     

Insect pests to hit crop production in 2013                      

Insecticides China News, a monthly publication issued by CCM on 10^th, provides the latest and influential analysis on insecticide industry. Major contents include special report, company dynamics, market dynamics, supply and demand, price analysis, policy, raw material and intermediate.

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