Interesting this un approved use of chemicals by the very rightous
kiwi bee keepers. In the USA the use of chemicals that are not labeled
 and approved for a particular uses is illegal and punisable. What
 other fast and loose ways are practiced down under. Eat American.
 
           Walter
 
 
>Way back in the dark ages (probably at least six months ago!) I sent a
>post to the group re. Mavrik, so it's interesting to see the product
>mentioned again.
>
>Mavrik is used to control a number of pests besides ticks and fleas on
>animals (and varroa and tropilaelaps in bees).  According to the trade
>brochure I have, it is also recommended for a variety of seed crops,
>fruits, vegetables and even cut flowers.  Target pests include grey
>cabbage aphid, clover case bearer moth, blue green aphid, thrips,
>whitefly, two spotted mite, European red mite, black cherry aphid,
>leafcurl plum aphid, green peach aphid, and leafroller.
>
>Here in New Zealand, Mavrik is used extensively as a pre-blossom
>insecticide on kiwifruit.  When the chemical was given approval for this
>use, beekeepers here jumped for joy, because fluvalinate (the active
>ingredient) is much more bee-friendly for leafroller control than other
>chemicals such as azinphos-methyl.  Because kiwifruit bloom is
>staggered, we used to have growers spraying the crop just before
>blossom in one orchard, and poisoning foraging bees from hives which
>had been put into flowering blocks in adjacent orchards.  Now we have
>virutally no bee deaths caused by leafroller sprays in kiwifruit.
>
>Mavrik has now also been approved here in New Zealand for thrip
>control on avocadoes during blooming, which has also significantly
>reduced the number of bee kills on that crop.
>
>What's interesting to me in all of this, however, is that Mavrik has so far
>not been registered for use on either of these crops as a post-blossom
>(developing fruit) spray.  I have been told by someone here in New
>Zealand the reason is that no acceptable residual levels have been
>established on fruits and vegetables.  I presume this is only because the
>chemical hasn't gone through the long and involved registration process.
>
>In closing, I thought I'd ask the same question I asked many moons ago to
>the group (and got no replies) -- does anyone know anything more about
>residue levels of fluvalinate on fruits and vegetables?  Has a limit been
>set for the chemical on food stuffs anywhere overseas?
>
>
 
Walter & Elisabeth Patton,  27-703 A Ka' ie'ie Rd., Papaikou HI.,96781
    Ph./Fax. 808-964-5401       E-Mail  hihoney@ilhawaii
 
Beekeeper and Bed  & Breakfast Owner in Hawaii
 
  http://www.alohamall.com/hamakua/hihoney.htm
http://www.alohamall.com/hamakua/beeware.htm
   http://www.alohamall.com/hamakua/lamalani.htm