An Act to amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act so as to include nematocides, plant regulators, defoliants, and desiccants, and for other purposes
PL 86-139 (H.R.6436), enacted 08/07/1959

286 
PUBLIC LAW 86-139-AUG. 7, 1969 
[73 STAT. 
Public Law 86-139 
August 7 1959 
-^^ '^^'^ 
[H. R. 6436] 
ipQ amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act so as to in-
clude nematocides, plant regulators, defoliants, and desiccants, and for other 
purposes. 
N e m a t o c i d e , 
P l a n t Regulator, 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
«a«t«r United States of America in Congress assembled^ That this Act may 
Defo'iian?,"'tod"D^ be cited as the "Nematocide, Plant Regulator, Defoliant, and Desic-
S^igsgf"''"'*"'*"* cant Amendment of 1959". 
SEC. 2. (A) The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide 
Act (61 Stat. 163; 7 U.S.C. 135-135k) is amended so that sections 2a 
and 2b read as follows: 
"a. The term 'economic poison' means (1) anj substance or mixture 
of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or miti-
gating any insects, rodents, nematodes, fungi, weeds, and other forms 
of plant or animal life or viruses, except viruses on or in living man 
or other animals, which the Secretary shall declare to be a pest, and 
(2) any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant 
regulator, defoliant or desiccant. 
"b. The term 'device' means any instrument or contrivance intended 
for trapping, destroying, repelling, or mitigating insects or rodents 
or destroying repelling, or mitigating fungi, nematodes, or such other 
pests as may be designated by the Secretary, but not including equip-
ment used for the application of economic poisons when sold sepa-
rately therefrom." 
7 use 135. 
^g^ Section 2 of such Act is further amended by redesignating 
subsections g through u to be subsections 1 through z respectively; 
and by adding new subsections g, h, i, j , and k, and amending new 
subsections p and z, to read respectively as follows: 
"g. The term 'nematocide' means any substance or mixture of sub-
stances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating 
nematodes. 
"h. The term 'plant regulator' means any substance or mixture of 
substances, intended through physiological action, for accelerating or 
retarding the rate of growth or rate of maturation, or for otherwise 
altering the behavior of ornamental or crop plants or the produce 
thereof, but shall not include substances to the extent that they are 
intended as plant nutrients, trace elements, nutritional chemicals, 
plant inoculants, and soil amendments. 
"i. The term 'defoliant' means any substance or mixture of sub-
stances intended for causing the leaves or foliage to drop from a plant, 
with or without causing abscission. 
" j . The term 'desiccant' means any substance or mixture of sub-
stances intended for artificially accelerating the drying of plant tissue, 
"k. The term 'nematode' means invertebrate animals of the phylum 
nemathelminthes and class nematoda, that is, unsegmented round 
worms with elongated, fusiform, or saclike bodies covered with cuticle, 
and inhabiting soil, water, plants or plant parts; may also be called 
nemas or eel 
worms. 
"p. The term 'active ingredient' means— 
"(1) in the case of an economic poison other than a plant 
regulator, defoliant or desiccant, an ingredient which will pre-
vent, destroy, repel, or mitigate insects, nematodes, fungi, 
rodents, weeds, or other pests; 
"(2) in the case of a plant regulator, an ingredient which, 
through physiological action, will accelerate or retard the rate 
of growth or rate of maturation or otherwise alter the behavior of 
ornamental or crop plants or the produce thereof; 
73 STAT.] 
PUBLIC L
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W 86-139-AUG. 7, 1959 
287 
"(3) in the case of a defoliant, an ingredient which will cause 
the leaves or foliage to drop from a plant; 
"(4) in the case of a desiccant, an ingredient which will arti-
ficially accelerate the drying of plant tissue. 
"z. The term 'misbranded' shall apply— 
"(1) to any economic poison or device if its labeling bears any 
statement, design, or graphic representation relative thereto or 
to its ingredients which is false or misleading in any particular; 
"(2) to any economic poison— 
"(a) if it is an imitation of or is offered for sale under 
the name of another economic poison; 
"(b) if its labeling bears any reference to registration 
under this Act; 
"(c) if the labeling accompanying it does not contain 
directions for use which are necessary and if complied with 
adequate for the protection of the public; 
"(d) if the label does not contain a warning or caution 
statement which may be necessary and if complied with ade-
quate to prevent injury to living man and other vertebrate 
animals, vegetation, and useful invertebrate animals; 
"(e) if the label does not bear an ingredient statement on 
that part of the immediate container and on the outside 
contamer or wrapper, if there be one, through which the 
ingredient statement on the immediate container cannot be 
clearly read, of the retail package which is presented or dis-
played under customary conditions of purchase: Provided, 
That the Secretary may permit the ingredient statement 
to appear prominently on some other part of the container, 
if the size or form of the container makes it impracticable to 
place it on the part of the retail package which is presented 
or displayed under customary conditions of purchase; 
"(f) if any word, statement, or other information required 
by or under authority of this Act to appear on the label or 
labeling is not prominently placed thereon with such con-
spicuousness (as compared with other words, statements, 
designs, or graphic matter in the labeling) and in such terms 
as to render it likely to be read and understood by the 
ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase 
and use; or 
"(g) if in the case of an insecticide, nematocide, fungicide, 
or herbicide when used as directed or in accordance with com-
monly recognized practice it shall be injurious to living man 
or other vertebrate animals, or vegetation, except weeds, to 
which it is applied, or to the person applying such economic 
poison; or 
"(h) if in the case of a plant regulatorj defoliant, or desic-
cant when used as directed it shall be injurious to living man or 
other vertebrate animals, or vegetation to which it is applied, 
or to the person applying such economic poison: Provided, 
That physical or pliysiological effects on plants or parts 
thereoi shall not be deemed to be injury, when this is the 
purpose for which the plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant 
was applied, in accordance with the label claims and recom-
mendations. 
SEC. 3. This Act shall take effect on the date of its enactment, ex- 
Effective date. 
cept that— 
(a) with respect to any nematocide, plant regulator, defoliant, 
or desiccant which was marketed commercially prior to the date 
of enactment and whose use does not result in residues of same 
288 
PUBUC LAW 86-140-AUG. 7, 1959 
[73 S T AT. 
7 u s e 135 a, I35f, 
135g. 
61 Stat. 163. 
7 u s e 135 note. 
5 2 S t a t . 
1049, 
1046. 
21 u s e 346, 342. 
68 Stat. 511. 
remaining in or on a food, and with respect to any nematocide, 
plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant whose use does result in 
residue remaining in or on a food at the time of introduction into 
interstate commerce and which use had commercial application 
prior to January 1, 1958, section 3, "Prohibited Acts"; section 8, 
Penalties"; section 9, "Seizures"; and section 10, "Imports", of 
the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, which 
this Act amends, shall not be applicable until— 
(1) March 5,1960, or such later date, not beyond March 5, 
1961, as the Secretary of Agriculture may prescribe on the 
basis of a determination that such action will not be unduly 
detrimental to the public interest and is necessary to avoid 
hardships, or 
(2) the date on which a registration for such use is issued 
under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide 
Act, 
whichever date first occurs; and 
(b) with respect to any particular commercial use of a nemato-
cide, plant regulator, deioliant, or desiccant in or on a raw agri-
cultural commodity, if such use was made of such substance 
before January 1, 1958, section 406(a) and clause (2) of section 
402(a) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as in force 
prior to the date of the enactment of the Act of July 22, 1954 
(68 Stat. 511) (relating to pesticide chemicals on raw agricultural 
commodities) shall apply until— 
(1) March 5, 1960, or the end of such additional period, 
not beyond March 5,1961, as the Secretary of Health, Educa-
tion, and Welfare may prescribe on the basis of a finding that 
such extension involves no undue risk to the public health 
and that conditions exist which necessitate the prescribing 
of such an additional period, or 
(2) the date on which an order with respect to such use 
under section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 
Act (21 U.S.C. 346a) becomes effective, 
whichever date first occurs. 
Approved August 7, 1959. 
August 7, 1959 
[H. R. 3290] 
Public Law 86-140 
AN ACT 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to eliminate the lequirement that each 
chaplain make an annual report to the Secretary of the Navy. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and Houm of Re'presentatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That subsection 
70A Stat. 378. 
(d) of sectiou 6031 of title 10, United States Code, is hereby repealed. 
Approved August 7, 1959. 
August 7, 1959 
[H. R. 1219] 
Public Law 86-141 
AN ACT 
To amend section 2038 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (relating to 
revocable transfers). 
68A Stat. 383. 
26 u s e 2038. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 2038 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (relating to the treatment of