Agricultural chemical companies are reluctant to invest millions to register their products for minor crops, leaving growers with fewer options for controlling pests. To help provide solutions, New Mexico State University's Leyendecker Plant Science Research Center is serving as a field research center for Interregional Research Project No. 4. IR 4, established in 1963, is the only publicly funded program to conduct research and submit information to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for pesticide and biopesticide registrations for minor crops. More than 30 food crops and a variety of nursery and landscape crops are grown in the state.
Minor crops have a major impact on U.S. agriculture.
Under the new standards, use of some pesticides previously approved for use in fruits, vegetables and other minor crops was curtailed. When a new pesticide is discovered and doesn't have the potential to be registered for a major crop, the chances of it making it to an official registered pesticide are quite slim. That's where IR-4 comes in. The IR-4 program's goal is to make alternative pest control products available. Researchers test pesticides and biopesticides to find products to replace those lost under the FQPA, working in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the land-grant university system.