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Subject: Minutes of the 5/20/2009 ChemSAC Meeting

To: HED’s Chemistry Interest Group

From: HED’s Chemistry Science Advisory Council

Attendance: Tom Bloem, Lee Cheng, Bill Cutchin, Nancy Dodd, Mike Doherty, Will Donovan

(Chair), George Kramer, Julie Langsdale, Rick Loranger, Dennis McNeilly, Thurston Morton,

Meheret Negussie, Laura Nollen, Christine Olinger (Minutes), Debra Rate, Bernie Schneider, 

Dave Soderberg,. IR-4 Teleconference: Bill Barney, and Kathryn Homa. PMRA 

Teleconference: Jennifer Selwyn

1. Approve 4/29/09 minutes.

These minutes had been previously discussed, but Will wanted additional comments from Rick 

Loranger on penthiopyrad. Rick had not had sufficient time to review, but will send comments 

to Will directly. There was further discussion on the geographical representation for item 3, the 

corn field trials for ULV formulations of azoxystrobin. The registrant wants to conduct all trials 

in Georgia. The ChemSAC concurred with the registrant proposal, provided that the three trials 

are truly independent. For example, they shouldn’t prepare one batch of tank mix and apply it to 

three adjacent fields.

2. Miscellaneous ChemSAC Announcements

The alphabetical food and feed vocabulary available at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/foodfeed

has recently been updated. Bernie also noted that Canada has recently updated their crop groups, 

so he hopes to add the French names to the US food/feed vocabulary. A summary table prepared 

by D. Rate (ARIA) summarizing the uses of chlorantraniliprole, and related SAC decisions, has 

been posted on the ChemSAC database. ChemSAC members are encouraged to review this table 

and provide any recommendations for changes to the SAC. 

3. S- metolachlor and diquat dibromide use on Calendula officinalis: Food/Non-food 

decision (K. Homa, IR-4).

IR-4 has received a request from Neal Boughton, the Director of Agronomy for Technology 

Crops Ltd., based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for the use of S-metolachlor (PR# 10280) 

and diquat dibromide (PR# 10281) on Calendula officinalis. Calendula officinalis, more 

commonly known as English Marigold, or Calendula, is an annual flower that originated in 

southern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean area. Currently, this plant is widely grown in the 

United States. This plant, with its large yellow to orange composite flowers, is also widely used 

as an ornamental. A member of the Asteraceae family, Calendula can also be used for medicinal 

aids and food purposes including garnishes, flavorings and colorings. In addition, Calendula has 

recently gained popularity as an oilseed crop for industrial use. Oil from the Calendula can be 

used in a number of valuable non-food use products including paints, coatings and some

industrial nylon products. It can also be used as a replacement for Tung oil.
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Due to the success of Calendula in Europe, contract production of Calendula is beginning in the 

United States and Canada. Currently, Technology Crops Ltd, a company that contracts the 

growing of many specialty oil crops including high oleic sunflowers and high erucic acid 

rapeseed, is looking to contract the production of Calendula in the state of Minnesota. Smetolachlor is needed to control weeds during the growing season and diquat is needed as a 

dessicant to facilitate harvest.

According to IR-4, the Calendula crops grown in Minnesota will be grown for non-food use 

only. The oil will be extracted from the harvested seed and no component of the oil or residual 

meal will enter the human or animal food chain. Meal will either be used for soil improvement 

purposes or will be incinerated. Therefore, IR-4 is requesting non-food use status for the use of 

S-metolachlor and diquat on Calendula.

Bernie has reviewed the Technology Crops Ltd. contract and agrees that the controls are 

sufficient to ensure that treated Calendula will not enter the human or livestock food chain. 

Based on the presumed effectiveness of the contract controls, the SAC recommended that IR-4 

plan for a Special Local Needs (SLN) 24(c) registration in Minnesota, but should first ensure that 

application rates are not higher than uses on registered crops, to ensure that the existing 

rotational crop data, for both S-metolachlor and diquat dibromide, will support this use. 

4. Revisions to Crop Group 20: Oilseeds (B. Schneider)

Bernie Schneider presented a proposed revision to Crop Group 20, adding Calendula officinalis

(aka Calendula) as a member of this group, as well as the Sunflowers subgroup. It is an 

opportune time, as there is interest in this crop as noted in item 3 above, and establishment of

Crop Group 20 previously discussed in ChemSAC will be published in the Federal Register

shortly (ChemSAC minutes of 2/20/2007).

As noted above, oil from Calendula seeds has industrial, food, and cosmetic uses. Pest pressures 

are likely to be similar as other oilseeds. Currently Calendula is grown in Minnesota, but 

expansion to other states with oil processing facilities is likely. PMRA noted that Calendula is 

being grown in several provinces in Canada, but has not yet been added to the Canadian crop 

groups.

The ChemSAC concurred with Bernie’s proposal to add Calendula officinalis to the oilseed crop 

group 20. PMRA is currently amending their directives for crop groups 8 and 11, and they hope 

to modify their directive for crop group 20 at the same time or shortly thereafter.

5. Approve/edit 5/13/09 minutes.

C. Olinger recommended adding a clarifying sentence to the item on endothall. There is an 

apparent discrepancy between the statement in the second paragraph on the use of treated water 

for irrigation and the statement in the third paragraph recommending against treatment of 

irrigation ponds.