UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON, D

.C

. 20460 

### DEC 13 

## 2012

MEMORANDUM OFFICE OF CHEMICAL SAFETY AND POLLUTION PREVENTION

SUBJECT: 

### BEAD Chemical Profile for Registration Review: Prometryn (080805) FROM:

THRU:

TO: 

### Bill Phillips, Ph.D., AgronomisV"m / Biological Analysis Branch**~** 

### _ JihadAlsadek,Ph.D.,Economist 

# f;;w_ fr

# ~ Science Information and Analysis Branch Stephen Smearman,**Economis~·** 

### /.

_**~** 

### Economic Analysis Branch**:~** 

### Biological and**Econom~ic** 

### Analysis rr-ivision (7503P) Arnet Jones, Chief Biological Analysis Br c Diann Sims,

# Chief**~** Science Information and Analysis Branch Timothy Kiely, Chief 

# fl-\-**~** Economic Analysis Branch
...) 

# J \f\1\ Biological and Economic Analysis Division 503P) Christina Scheltema, Chemical Review Manager Risk Management and Implementation Branch 3 Pesticide Re-evaluation Division (7508P) 

### Product Review Panel date: November 19,2012
INTRODUCTION 

### The purpose ofthis document is to convey usage information and a broad overview ofthe pest management roles ofpesticides that are beginning to undergo registration review. The anticipated audience consists ofthe team ofEPA staffcurrently evaluating the registration status ofprometryn, and eventually the general public. This document builds upon the data already provided in

### the "Usage and Label Use Data" packages that are also provided to Registration
1**~** Reviewteams byBEAD. The document is based on information and data available to BEAD as ofNovember 1, 2012. The registration eligibility decision (RED) for prometrynwas completed in February of 1996 at whichtime "[t]heAgencyhas determinedthat all uses of prometryn as currently registeredwill notcause unreasonable riskto humans or the environmentandall uses are eligiblefor reregistration." 1

HISTORY OF BEAD ASSESSMENTS FORPROMETRYN BEAD did not find any impact assessments or Section 18 Emergency Exemptions specifically for prometryn.
HERBICIDE DISCUSSION Prometryn is a triazine herbicide in the Weed Science Society ofAmerica's group 5. This group ofherbicides has the mechanism ofaction ofinhibiting photosynthesis inphotosystem II. Weeds controlled by this herbicide are broadleafwith some annual grasses as well. Prometryn is applied by several methods and timing in terrestrial feed and food crops. In crops such as pigeonpeas, prometryn is applied preemergence while in other crops, such as celery it can be usedbothpreemergence and postemergence. In addition, in crops such as cotton, applications are made pre-plant incorporated, preemergence and/or post-directed. Following applications ofprometryn, the duration for rotational crops restrictions can be significant. Several ofthese rotational restrictions are between 1 and 18 months depending upon the crop. Over the period of2007 and 2011 justunder 95% ofthe total pounds ofprometryn active ingredient (lbs a.i.) were applied in cotton. In glyphosate resistant cottonthere are some weeds, such as the morning-glory species, that are difficult to control with glyphosate. Without controlling weed species like morning-glory, growers will have problems harvesting due to the vining nature ofmorning-glory. Because this weed grows to the top ofthe cotton plant, wrapping itselfaround multiple plants, harvesting is made difficult. The use ofprometrynplus trifloxysulfuron applied either post-directed or at layby is the best method for controlling morning-glory species and other difficult to control weed species. 2

COMMON FORMULATIONS AND APPLICATION METHODS
<::.. Prometryn is formulated as granules, emulsifiable, flowable concentrate, and soluble concentrate. Application methods include ground, aerial and via irrigation systems.

1Reregistration Eligibility Decision. 1996. http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrdl/REDs/0467.pdf 2 Dodds, D.M., M.T. Kirkpatrick, L.T. Barber, and D.B. Reynolds. 2008. Jor. ofCotton Sci. 12:311-317. http://journal.cotton.org
. Cotton Foundation 2/

USE SITES Agricultural Use Sites Prometryn is registered for use onthe following agricultural use sites: carrots, celeriac, celery, celtuce, cilantro, cotton, dill, fennel, okra, parsley, pigeonpeas, rhubarb, and leafy vegetables. Non-Agricultural Use Sites Prometryn has no registered non-agricultural use sites.
USAGE Agricultural Use Sites Overthe period 1998-2011, Figure 1 shows the use ofprometrynin terms oftotalpounds a.i. used. The use ofprometryn was reached a maximumpoint in 2001. Overall there has been a declined in use ofthis herbicide. The data available to BEAD only covers carrots, celery, com, cotton and sweet com, fallow, and rice eventhough this chemical is registered for more crops. Figure 1. Agricultural Usage Data for Prometryn in Pounds a.i. on All Crops (1998-2011)



### .,;. 

### "' "C c**~** 0 a..

DO Cl'\ Cl'\

..... Cl'\ 0 Cl'\ 0 Cl'\ 0

..... N
Source: Proprietary Data, 1998 -2011 ..... N M 0 0 0 0 0 0 N N N <;t U") \D ...... DO Cl'\ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N N N N N N N

Years ..... ..... 0 N

Forthe period 1998-2011, an annual average of 158,000 lbs a.i. were used to treat 1.4 million acres for an overall average application rate of0.1 lbs. a.i. per acre, and for the period 2007-2011 about an annual average of687,000 lbs a.i. were used to treat 902,000 acres for an average application rate of0.8 lbs. a.i
. per acre.



### 3During 2007-2011, the crops with the mostuse interms oftotal pounds ofactive ingredient and total areatreated are cotton and celery. On average, the states withthe most agricultural usage interms ofpounds a.i. applied are Texas (33%), Georgia (20%), North Carolina (12%), and California and Tennessee (8% each). The most agricultural usage interms oftotal areatreated (TAT) in acres are Texas (38%), Georgia (19%), North Carolina (11%), and Tennessee (9% each). (Proprietary Data, 2007-2011).
CONCLUSION Overall the use ofprometrynhas declined; howeverbased onthe amount ofthe herbicide used annually there seems to be some important uses for celery and cotton.

REFERENCES: Proprietary Data, 1998-2011 Proprietary Data, 2006-2010 USDA, 2006-2010. NASS Crop Reporting Districts. http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/anns/resourceregions/ resourceregions.htm#nass
. USDA, 2007. Census ofAgriculture. http://www.agcensus.usda.gov /PubIications/2007 /index
.asp.



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### Appendix Another measure ofusage is the use intensity. Inthis analysis, the use intensity is expressed as the pounds a.i. applied per 1000 acres ofland in farms. This differs from the application mte, which is expressed as the pounds a.i. applied pertreated acre. The average application rate of 0.8 lb a.i. per acre is equivalentto 800 lbs per 1000 treated acres. The maximum use intensity is about 40 lbs a.i. per 1000 acres offarm land. The figure spatially represents prometryn's use in the US and the most intense use occurs in Georgiafor cotton. 

### Prometryn Usage by 

### Crop ReportingDistrict (2006-2010)

Prometryn •Use (2006-20I0)by Crop Reporting District Avenge Pounds per 1,000 Acres of Farmland

..<1

..1-3 c:=J 4-8 c=J 9-15 16-44

This is a map ofagricultural pesticide usage at the Crop Reporting District (CRD) level prepared by BEAD for use in the Environmental Fate and Effects Division documents. These maps are used to help visualize where the pesticide being considered is most likely to be used and can be helpful in scenario selection and placing the exposure assessment in context. CRDs are boundaries created by USDA NASS which are aggregates ofcounties (USDA, 2010). Pesticide usage is displayed as average pounds (for the years 2006- 2010) per 1,000 acres of farmland in a CRD to normalize for the variation in farmland between CRDs. Farmland acreage was obtained from USDA (2007). Farmland or "land in farms" is defmed as follows: The acreage designated as "land in farms" consists primarily ofagricultural land used for crops, pasture, or grazing. It also includes woodland and wasteland not actually under cultivation or used for pasture or grazing, provided it was part of the farm operator's total operation. Large acreages of woodland or wasteland held for nonagricultural purposes were deleted from individual reports during 5the edit process. Land in farms includes CRP, WRP, FWP, and CREP acres. Land in farms is an operating unit concept and includes land owned and operated as well as land rented from others. Land used rent free was reported as land rented from others. All grazing land, except land used under government permits on a per-head basis, was included as "land in farms" provided it was part of a farm or ranch. Land under the exclusive use of a grazing association was reported by the grazing association and included as land in farms. All land in American Indian reservations used for growing crops, grazing livestock, or the potential of grazing livestock was included as land in farms. Land in reservations not reported by reservation, individual American Indians or nonNative Americans was reported in the name ofthe cooperative group that used the land. In many instances, an entire American Indian reservation was reported as one farm (2007 Census ofAgriculture, USDA). Usage is based on private market surveys ofpesticide use in agriculture (Proprietary Data, 2006-2010). The survey data are limited to the states that represent the top 80-90% of acreage for the individual crops; therefore, use may be occurring in regions outside the scope of the survey. CRDs showing no usage of pesticides may be due to either the lack ofpesticide use in the region or non-participation in the agricultural surveys. In addition, across the years, there may be variations in the specific crops included in the CRD survey. This may result in a lower annual average for the CRD. This map displays ratio data (i.e., average pounds per 1,000 acres offarmland) summarized at a very highlevel. Readers are strongly cautioned against trying to over interpret the map without examination of the underlying data. The underlying data may explain some ofthe many reasons that a Crop Reporting District may have a high value for a particular active ingredient such as significant acreage (compared with the CRD as a whole) ofa crop or crops with a high application rate and frequency ofapplication. The reader should pay particular attention to the figure legends and realize that a map prepared for a particular chemical is not directly comparable to a map prepared for a different chemical. Scale and units of measurement do matter and may be different between maps. Sources: Proprietary Data. 2006-2010 USDA, 2006-2010. NASS Crop Reporting Districts. USDA, 2007. Census ofAgriculture.



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