MEMORANDUM UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON D

. C ., 20460 

### OCT 

## 2 O

### Z015 OFFICE OF CHEMICAL SAFETY AND POLLUTION PREVENTION

SUBJECT: 

### BEAD Chemical Profile (BCP) for Registration Review: Propiconazole (122101) FROM:

THRU:

TO: 

### Tara Chandgoyal, Ph. D., Plant Pathologist Biological Analysis Branch
Rafael A. Prieto, Environmental Protection Specialist ,;? 

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# /A_**~** Science Information and Analysis Branch / 

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### Stephen Smearman, Economist 

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## ~ Economic Analysis Branch

### ~ . Biological and Economic Analysis Division (7503P) Arnet Jones, Chief 

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# J;..,.s Biological Analysis

## B~h /
Diann Sims,

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

# ~**~** Economic Analysis Branch

### ~ Biological and Economic Anal is Division 503P) Linsey Walsh, Chemical Review Manager Risk Management and Implementation Branch 3 Pesticide Re-evaluation Division (7508P)

Peer Review Panel date: October 7, 2015

1SUMMARY Propiconazole is a systemic fungicide with protective, curative, and eradicant properties. These antifungal properties results in fungal disease control on various crop. Propiconazole belongs to fungicide group 3 ofFRAC classification of fungicides (FRAC, 20 15). There is a medium risk of developing resistance in fungal plant pathogens against propiconazole (FRAC, 2015). Propiconazo le is registered for use on many crops (barley, wheat, peanuts, and others) for controlling fungal diseases. Propiconazole is used on various crops to control fungal pests. As per the SLUA generated in 2015 (time frame of2004

-2013), the crops with the highest annual average pounds (a.i.) are wheat (500,000 lbs.), com (200,000 lbs.) , and rice (100,000 lbs.). 

### In terms of average percent crop treated (PCT), the top crops are ce lery and pluots (plum and apricot hybrid California crop), with an average of 55% percent crop treated (PCT).
INTRODUCTION Propiconazole was first registered in 1981 for use on grass grown for seed and subsequentl y many more crops were added to propiconazole registration. The Biological and Economic Analysis Division (BEAD) Chemical Profile (BCP) provides an overview of the pest management roles and quantitative usage information for propiconazole. The BCP includes summaries ofprevious BEAD products and available public and/or private use and usage data for propiconazole to describe the role ofthis chemical in pest management. Additional information on use is available in the propiconazole Label Data Report. Information provided in this BCP may be used by stakeholders (e.g., users and registrants), OPP risk assessors , and OPP ri sk managers , and the general public during the Registration Review process of this pesticide.
USE SITES Propiconazo le is registered for use on the following agricultural use s ites: stone fruit crop group 12 , c itrus fruits crop group 10, tree nut group 14 , cereal grains group 15, apples, bananas , dry beans, succulent beans (snap), bulb vegetables, carrots, ce lery, coriander; cranberry, grasses grown for seed, mint, mushroom houses-empty , ornamentals , parsley, peanuts , pineapple, pistachio, plantain, soybeans , strawberry, sugar beet, sugarcane , sunflower, and tomato. Propiconazole is registered for use on the following non-agricultural use s ites: golfcourse turf, wood protection treatment (indoor and outdoor buildings , unseasoned forest products), adhesives , coatings, metalworking cutting fluids , paints, paper /paper products, p lastic products, rubber products , specialty industrial products , specialty uses , and textiles.
FORMULATIONS AND APPLICATION METHODS Propiconazole is formulated as a dry flowable, emulsifiable concentrate , ready to use , soluble concentrate, flowable concentrate, suspoemulsion, and granular

. Propiconazole can be applied as a ground and aerial sprayer, as a clip treatment, or by chemigation. Propiconazole is also used as a preservative treatment during the manufacture of industrial commodities such as adhesives , paint, coatings, plastics, paper, and textiles.

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### HISTORY OF PROPICONAZOLE and BEAD PRODUCTS Propiconazole was first registered in 1981 by Ciba Geigy for use on grass grown for seed. A ten year search (2006-2015) of the BEAD database for previous products for propiconazole shows one Section 18 Emergency Exemption Quarantine Request on avocados in Florida for control of laurel wilt in 2010 (Chandgoyal , 2010)

. BEAD reviewed the application and concurred with the request for this use . Subsequently this emergency exemption was renewed by Registration Division 

### in 2013 (http ://cfuubl.epa

. gov/oppref/section 18/searchbyrespdate

.cfm). Section 18 Emergency Exemption Requests might suggest that a chemical is important for the uses granted in the request; however, a lack of Section 18 Emergency Exemption Requests is not an indication ofthe relative importance of the chemical.


### USAGE Agricultural
From 2004 to 2008 (before this chemical ' s RED) , annual usage ofpropiconazole averaged 710,000 pounds

. During this time , an average of 8 , 600 ,000 acres were treated annually with an overall average application rate of 0.081 pounds a.i

. per acre. For the 2009-2013 timeframe , propiconazole annual usage averaged 1 ,400 ,000 pounds of a.i. treating an annual average of 17 ,000 , 000 acres , for an overall average application rate of0.084 pounds a.i

. per acre. The use ofpropiconazole , in terms ofpourids a.i. and total area treated (TAT) , has been increasing since 2004

. While use decreased from 2008 to 2010 , both pounds applied and total area treated ha ve increased in the most recent years (Figure 1 ).
Usage Trends 

### Figure 

### 1. Propiconazole Pounds A

. I. 

### Applied and Total Area Treated (TAT) in Acres (2004

-2013)**~** Vl 

## " c: ::l 0 a.. 1,800,000

"'1" Ll'l \0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N N N

Source: Proprietary Data , 2004-2013 I' co 0 0 0 0 N N
Y

ear 25,000,000

-+- L BS -9- T AT
Cl) 0 ..... N ('(') 0 ..... ..... ..... ..... 0 0 0 0 0 N N N N N

3As shown in Table 1 below, spring and winter wheat are the top crops accounting for approximately 50 percent ofpropiconazole usage. North Dakota is the state that has the highest use of propiconazole, reflecting the main use which is wheat (Table 3). 

### Tab le 1. 

### Crops with Hi2hest Propiconazole Use

- Percent of Total Lbs. Applied (2004-2013) 2004-2008 2009-2013 

### Crop %Lbs Crop %Lbs Wheat, Winter 24 Wheat, Winter 26 Wheat, Spring 20 Wheat, Spring 25 Com 16 Com 17 Rice 15 Rice 12 Peanuts 9 Soybeans 8 Source: Proprietary Data, 2004-2013
In terms ofthe crops with the highest percent crop treated (PCT) with propiconazole according to the Screening Level Usage Analysis (SLUA) (BEAD , 2015), celery, hazelnuts and pluots each account for an average of 55, 45, and 55 PCT respectively of their annual acreage treated with propiconazole (Table 2). 

### Table 2. 

### Percent Crop Treated with Propiconazole (2004-2013). 

### Crop Percent Crop Treated Average Maximum Celery 55 75 Hazelnuts 45 65 Pluots (California crop) 55 75 Source: Propiconazole SLUA, 2015. 

### Table 3. 

### States with Highest Use of Propiconazole

- Percent of Total Lbs. Applied (2004- 20 13) 2004-2008 2009-2013 

### State %Lbs State %Lbs North Dakota 18 North Dakota 17 Kansas 9 Arkansas 

### 8 Arkansas 8 Washington 7 Georgia 8 Kansas 6

Texas 6 California 5 Source: Proprietary Data, 2004-2013 Application Rates From 2004 to 2008, the application rates for the top crops for propiconazole (in terms of pounds) , range from 0.063 lbs a.i. per acre on spring wheat, up to 0.126 lbs a.i. per acre for rice (Table 4). For years 2009-2013 , the application rates for the top crops for propiconazole (in terms ofpounds) , range from 0.070 lbs a.i. per acre on spring wheat, and up to 0.135 lbs a.i. per acre on rice. Application rates on com and soybeans have decreased. These rates are lower than the label rates

.

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### Table 4. Propiconazole Use on Top Crops: Average Annual Usage with A.I. Rate, 2004- 2013 2004-2008 2009-2013 Average Average Avg

. a.i Average Average Avg. a.i. Label Annual Annual Crop Annual Total Rate Annual Total Rate Rate Total (lbs a.i

. I 

### Total (lbs a.i. (lbs a.i. I 

### Area Area Pounds Treated* acre) Pounds Treated* I 

### acre) acre) Winter 170,000 2,100, 000 0.080 360,000 4 , 100 ,000 0.088 0.11 Wheat Spring 140,000 2 , 300 ,000 0.063 350,000 5 ,000 ,000 0.070 0.11 Wheat Corn 110,000 1 , 200 ,000 0.092 230 ,000 2 ,900 ,000 0.079 0.11 Rice 110,000 870,000 0.126 160,000 1 , 200 ,000 0.135 0.21-0

.29 Peanuts 64 ,000 960 ,000 0

.066 64 ,000 900,000 0.071 0.11-0

.23 Soybeans 42 ,000 460 , 000 0.090 110,000 1 ,500,000 0.073 0.11-0.17 *Total Acres Treated sums all acres treated for a crop, including those acres that receive multiple treatments. Source: EPA Proprietary Data, 2004-2013 NASS also shows use for nursery & floriculture with 2 ,400 pounds a.i. in 2006 and 2 , 300 pounds a.i in 2009. Source: NASS , 2006, 2009 Non-agricultural 

### TABLE 5 N A . ltu 1

### U f 

### P 

# . on- .gr1cu ra se o I 2002 2004 2012 ropaconazo e, 

### ' ' Sector Year Lbs a.i. Applied Professional Turf Management and Horticultural Nurseries 2001 108 ,000 Professional Turf Management and Horticultural Nurseries 2003 126 ,000 Professional Turf and Ornamental Markets 2011 155 ,000 Specialty Biocides for Use in Wood Preservation Applications 2011 28 ,000 Source: Proprietary Data, 2002 , 2004, 2012 

### BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS RELEVANT TO PROPICONAZOLE Propiconazole inhibits sterol demethylation in fungi , causing fungal cell wall collapse and inhibition ofhyphal growth. Propiconazole is a systemic fungicide with protective , curative, and eradicant properties. These antifungal properties results in fungal disease control on various crops. Propiconazole belongs to fungicide group 3 (SBI: Class I, such as fenbuconazole , myclobutanil , prothioconazole, tetraconazole and some others) of FRAC classification of fungicides (FRAC, 2015). There is medium risk of developing resistance in fungal plant pathogens against propiconazole (FRAC , 2015). Propiconazole can be used as a standalone fungicide or in combination/alternation with fungicides with different mode ofaction (such as azoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin). Since 2006 propiconazole use has increased, that may be due to high disease pressure on different crops and especially on wheat. On wheat it is mainly used for

5controlling Fusarium head blight (Hershman, 2011) and rust diseases that can cause significant yield losses.
ROLE OF PROPICONAZOLE IN PEST MANAGEMENT Propiconazole is predominantly used on wheat (approximately 44 and 51 percent of total usage during 2004-2008 and 2009-2013, respectively) followed by com, rice and peanuts (Table I). Propiconazole is used on wheat in North Dakota to manage Fusarium head blight and rust diseases. 

### In North Dakota, disease pressure is usually high on wheat and it is used every year to manage these diseases (Glogoza, et al. , 2000). 

### In addition, tebuconazole , prothioconazole, azoxystrobin and pyraclostrobin are used to manage these diseases on wheat. Propiconazole can be applied alone or in combination with other fungicides (such as azoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin). Propiconazole is used on com to manage many fungal diseases (rusts, leafblights, grey leaf spot and powdery mildew). On com mancozeb and azoxystrobin and pyraclostrobin can be used on manage these diseases.
On rice it is used for managing sheath blight, kernel smut, false smut and neck blast diseases. Propiconazole can be used alone or in combination with other fungicides such as azoxystrobin, trifloxystrobin for better efficacy and resistance management (Warmish, 2015).
On peanuts it is used for managing leaf spot and limb rot diseases (Brenneman et al. , 1994). It is usually mixed with chlorothalonil for better efficacy and resistance management. On other crops (such as almonds, peaches, plums/prunes, sugar beets, hazelnuts, celery, cherries, pistachios, strawberries, garlic, dry beans/peas , apricots) propiconazole is used for controlling fungal diseases (leaf spot, and powdery mildew and rust diseases).
DATA NEEDS
The Agency currently does not have important non-agricultural information on propiconazole. Obtaining the following information for all registered non-agricultural sites may improve future assessments conducted by the Agency related to the use and importance of propiconazole.

• Total pounds active ingredient applied • Percent

. crop/site treated • Application rates: typical and maximum • Frequency of application • Application Intervals • Methods ofapplication • Target or niche pests • Efficacy information/product performance



### 6

### In addition , obtaining the following usage information may improve future assessments conducted by the Agency related to the use and importance of propiconazole in agricultural settings: 1) Typical application timing in each registered crop. 2) 

### Ifmore than one application is typically made , the typical re- application interval (per crop). 3) Recent resistance reports for propiconazole in populations of important target pests , in particular cases of cros s-resistance to other fungicides. 

### REFERENCES : Brenneman, TB

. , Sumner, HR. , Chandler, LR. , Hammond, 

### JM. , and Culbreath, AK, 1994. Effect of application techniques on performance ofpropiconazole for peanut disease control. Peanut Science: 134-138. Chandgoyal. 2010. Emergency Exemption Quarantine Request on avocados in Florida for control oflaurel wilt in 2010
FRAC

. 2015

. http: //www

.frac. info/docs/default

- source/public ations/frac

- code

- list/frac

- code-li st 20 l 5-finalC2AD7 AA36764 .pdf?sfvrsn=4 Accessed on Augus t 12, 2015

. Glogoza, P ., McMullen, M. , Zollinger, R. , Peel , M , and Fisher, N. 2000. Crop profile for hard red spring and durum wheat in North Dakota. http: //www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/aginfo/entomology/ndpiap/ND Crop Profiles/ HRS Durum Whe at/crop profile for ND wheat.htm
Hershman, DE. 2011. Fungicide Use in wheat. http: //www2.ca.uky.edu/agcollege/plantpathology/ext files/PPFShtml/ppfsagsg5.pdf Accessed on August 12, 2015.
KLINE , 2002 , 2004 , 2012. Proprietary Data, 2004-2013

. Warmish, Y. 2015. Rice

- Fungicides. In Arkansas Plant Disease Control products Guide , T. Faske, ed. University of Arkansas , Division of Agriculture. https: //www .uaex .edu/pub lications/pdf/mp 154/rice-diseases-fungicides.pdf Accessed on August 12, 2015.

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