After I posted I received more information. Gaucho is used extensively as a seed treatment on
sweet and/or field corn, canola, sunflowers, green beans and sugar beets here in MN. There are
trials being done on soybean treatments too but it sounds like its not been approved yet.
We don't have much canola or sunflowers growing here so it would appear we don't have many
crops that bees might find possible tainted nectar.
The sugar beet use is disturbing as the use is almost 75% is what a salesman told me. I have been
concerned about atrazine traces and gmo corn as inputs into corn syrup on top of other recent
infomation. Given that recent information I was thinking of moving to liquid sugar. Up north in
NoDak were its sugar beet country the liquid sugar would be mostly from Gaucho soaked sugar
beet plants. Wonderful we can't get away from chems anywhere.
Sure would be nice to see some HFCS and liquid sugar analysis done to see what levels of these
(atrazine, imidacloprid) chems are in the bee feed.
There is also a spray-able apple product called Provado I was aware of but it does not cover the
main spectrum of insects we have trouble with in apples. Its main use is for leafhoppers or leaf
sucking insect which are a mid summer post bloom concern and consequently is not frequntly
used in Mn.
At least I feel a little better knowing that we probably don't have many spray applications being
done with Imidacloprid nearby. Question is where is the heaviest concentration of Imidacloprid as
a crop spray in USA? or also where is a heavy concentration of the seed treatments in nectar
source plants like cotton, canola, sunflowers? fortunately alfalfa is not on the list of approved seed
treatment uses.
Here is a snippet from Cornell's website for apples
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/treefruit/html/2006TF04/2006TF04_55.php
*IMIDACLOPRID (Provado) is a broad spectrum
contact and locally systemic chloronicotinyl insec-
ticide with low mammalian toxicity. It is primarily
effective against aphids, whiteflies, thrips, scales
(crawlers), pyslla, leafhoppers, mealybugs, some
beetle and weevil species, and leafminers. The flow-
able formulation is labeled on apples for aphids
(except woolly apple aphid), leafminers, leafhop-
pers and San Jose scale and on pears for aphids,
pear psylla, mealybug, and San Jose scale. It has also
shown activity against pear midge when applied at
petal fall. This material has no effect on any mites,
beneficial or phytophagous, but is hard on Stethorus.
High bee-poisoning hazard, exhibiting toxicity on
contact plus repellency and hive disorientation.
wonder where that disorientation info originated from?
For fun tomorrow I think I'll give Bayer a call and see what they have to say about Imidacloprid use
in the USA and honeybees.
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