The race is on to find new ways to protect canola from flea beetles without causing trade problems.
Novartis is one of the first to publicly showcase a product it hopes will become an alternative to lindane-based seed treatments.
The company has applied for registration in Canada and the United States. This summer it has a research permit for its product, called Helix.
Mark Sears, an entomologist at the University of Guelph, said Helix is one of several new seed treatments that look promising in research trials.
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He is working on research trials with Novartis and other companies, but declined to comment on the other research. He spoke at a news conference held by Novartis.
Price competition
Because several companies are entering the competition, prices for the new seed treatment will likely be held in check, said Sears. Growers will benefit from competitive prices and more choices, he said.
Up to 95 percent of canola seed planted on the Prairies is treated with fungicides and insecticides to prevent seedborne and soilborne diseases and kill flea beetles.
But lindane, a persistent organic pollutant, is being phased out.
“It’s on the hit list in North America, and we’re going to lose it,” said Sears.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last summer warned the Canadian canola industry to stop shipping seed treated with the chemical across the border.
Chemical companies that use lindane in their products, including Gustafson, Rhone Poulenc, Zeneca and Inter-Provincial Co-operatives Ltd., must remove lindane from their labels by the end of 1999.
Growers and suppliers have until July 1, 2001 to use up existing stocks of the seed treatments.
Novartis’ vice-president for research and regulatory affairs would not speculate about when its new product will be registered for commercial use.
Marion Stypa said the three fungicides within the seed treatment have already been registered in Canada, but the insecticide is new to both Canada and the U.S.
The company has applied for registration with agencies in both countries.
It generally takes two to three years for the Pest Management Regulatory Agency to review new chemicals, he said.
The company’s research permit will see 95 prairie farmers from Fairview, Alta., to Teulon, Man., each plant 40 acres of seed treated with Helix this summer.
Sears said the product provided “excellent control” of flea beetles in his trials, worked as good or better than existing products, and lasted longer than lindane-based products.
Prem Kharbanda, a plant pathologist with the Alberta Research Council, said Helix protects canola from common seedling diseases.
Fewer chemicals
Sears also noted Helix will reduce the use of chemicals. The rate of pesticide in the product is four times lower than commercial standards. And the total amount of fungicide in Helix is about 10 times lower than other seed treatments.
“I think it’s an environmentally sustainable kind of product,” said Sears.
Ted Labun, a Novartis seed treatment specialist, said Helix is water-based, meaning less solvent odor during application in plants.
It is much less toxic to humans. While lindane-based treatments are toxic at levels of 125 to 300 milligrams of ingredient per kilogram of body weight, Helix isn’t toxic until a 5,000 mg/kg dose.
Salt is toxic at doses of 3,750 mg/kg.
Ferdie Schneidersmann, vice-president of seed treatment and supply for Novartis, said the company has not yet established a price for the product.
