ADAMA had recalled its lambda-cyhalorthrin insecticide due to new PMRA rules but recently relabelled the product
After months of consulting with ag retailers and industry associations, ADAMA Canada will continue to sell products that contain lambda-cyhalorthrin.
ADAMA, a crop protection company, announced the decision regarding the insecticide in early March.
“We have confidence in our retail partners to provide good advice to growers and we trust growers themselves to use the product responsibly and within permitted guidelines,” said Cornie Thiessen, general manager of ADAMA Canada.
The company has re-labelled its inventories of Silencer and Zivata — insecticides with lambda- cyhalorthrin as the active ingredient.
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The labelling changes were needed because of a Pest Management Regulatory Agency decision in April 2021. At the time, the PMRA re-evaluation decision said it’s safe to use lambda-cy on many crops, if certain risk mitigation steps are followed, but not on lettuce, livestock feed and other crops.
“Health risks were not shown to be acceptable when used according to the current conditions of registration, or when additional mitigation is considered: lettuce, mustard seed (condiment type), all feed uses, bulb vegetables, and all registered commodities from Crop Group 20: Oilseeds (Revised), except for flaxseed, mustard seed (oilseed type), and rapeseed (including canola).”
Companies that manufacture and sell lambda-cyhalothrin products had 24 months, until April 2023, to comply with the changes to the insecticide’s label.
However, the bit about no use on “livestock feed” caused a great deal of confusion for crop protection companies, ag retailers and farmers. For instance, could the insecticide still be applied to kill flea beetles in canola? Can dairy cows eat the canola meal, if lambda-cy is applied to the canola crop?
Beyond canola, most crops grown in Canada can be downgraded and sold as livestock feed.
In response to the uncertainty around livestock feed, crop protection companies said they would pull lambda-cy products from the market.
ADAMA Canada and Syngenta, which manufactures a lambda-cy insecticide called Matador, announced their decisions in November.
“Syngenta has recalled all lambda-cyhalothrin based products from market to meet the PMRA’s label amendment requirements by April 29, 2023. In addition, to avoid any confusion with our customers and to support business planning activities, Syngenta has made the decision to not sell lambda-cyhalothrin based products for 2023 in Western Canada. We will continue to sell Matador 120EC product in Eastern Canada for the horticultural markets.”
Similarly, ADAMA recalled its stock of lambda-cy products and stopped taking new orders for the insecticide, back in November.
The recent ADAMA decision means Silencer and Zivata are once again available for Canadian growers.
“The bottom line for growers is to read the labeling guidelines carefully,” Thiessen said in a press release. “Talk to your full-service input retailer and to your crop buyers so you can make an informed decision about if and when to apply the product.”
A Syngenta spokesperson said the company hasn’t made a decision yet about Matador and its availability in Western Canada.
“Our submission to PMRA requesting re-instatement of as many of the livestock feed uses as possible is still under review…. We also continue to engage with grower groups and industry stakeholders to support their ongoing discussions with PMRA … on the importance of this technology for Canadian agriculture.”
