protection of both human health and the environment from more than one active ingredient in commonly-used fumigants. New restrictions have been put in place on those products. Today, no Chloropicrine is used in B.C. because it would require very specialized equipment that isn’t available here, notes Irene Wilkin, Regional Pesticides Officer, regulatory operations and regions branch, Health Canada.
In 2012, a number of documents were released following a re-evaluation of soil fumigants, she says. As a result, she says one raspberry grower is using Daxomet (Basamid) which has also been the subject of new restrictions, and a couple of others are using Vapam, but only one raspberry grower has access to equipment that can inject the Vapam and directly roll at the same time to seal it in. Others are applying it via chemigation, Wilkin notes. She has been doing inspections the past two years, following up on sales records to find growers who have purchased either Basamid or Vapam. Label instructions regarding safety and buffer zones are difficult to understand, she concedes, and in some cases, the requirement for large buffer zones has meant growers need to get creative in order to treat their fields, while ensuring everything is safe. In order to comply with the regulations, they can reduce the rate of application to reduce buffer zone sizes or divide up their fields into smaller treatment zones and treat the smaller areas 12 hours apart.
They can also take advantage of buffer zone credits which allow them to reduce the size of buffers if the soil temperature is low, if soil organic matter is high, if they use a tarp, etc., she says.
Use of both Basamid and Vapam for soil fumigation has been changed from commercial to restricted class application, meaning users must have a certificate issued by the B.C. Ministry of Environment that indicates they have been trained in how to conduct a soil fumigation. The helper as well as the applicant requires certification. As well, growers must have a Fumigation Management Plan before fumigating. The label on the fumigant lists what is required.
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency has developed a FMP template which is available from PMRA, she advises.
Be alert for BMSB By Judie Steeves W
ith discovery last year that a devastating agricultural pest has arrived in this province, entomologists are advising growers to be on the lookout for any suspicious bugs that could be the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys).
In the Lower Mainland last summer it was found in Vancouver, Chilliwack and Rosedale, but not yet in berry fields. Entomologist Tracy Hueppelsheuser, with the provincial agriculture ministry’s Fraser Valley office, says the bug so far has been detected only in urban or residential areas, particularly in proximity to transportation corridors. “I do not expect to see it in crops yet,” she says. However, in Ontario and Quebec, BMSB found its way into crops after first being detected in urban areas in 2010.
The bugs are excellent
Tracy Hueppelsheuser
hitchhikers and could have been brought into the province in shipping containers,
wood, packing material, on cargo or on vehicles.
BMSB is considered a very serious pest of agriculture as it feeds on hundreds of different plant species including tree fruits, grapes, berries, vegetables and ornamental plants, she says.
Hueppelsheuser reports it is native to Asia, and was first noticed in Pennsylvania in 2001 but it has since spread throughout the U.S. Populations grew exponentially. Females can lay 100 eggs a season and the females can mature within two weeks under favourable conditions. It overwinters in wooded areas, as well as invading structures and homes by the hordes in fall, she warns. Adult BMSB were also discovered in Penticton by a taxonomist from Agriculture Canada on wild
20 British Columbia Berry Grower • Spring 2017 chokecherries last May.
Provincial agriculture ministry staff surveyed the site and collected five nymphs from the same bush Aug. 4 and one adult on a different chokecherry bush in the same area Sept. 15. They were all collected using sweep nets and a beating board. As well, a pyramid trap baited with a BMSB lure was set up nearby and caught two more nymphs in October, indicating it’s likely an established population. Hueppelsheuser says it has few natural enemies here and damages plants by sucking plant juices. Its saliva causes enzyme damage, resulting in dead areas wherever it feeds; destruction of berries and grapes and taint in wine. All damage results in produce that is not marketable. She describes the bugs as marbled dark brown, about 13 to17 mm in length, featuring a shield-shaped shell. They have two white bands on each antennae. The nymph stage ranges from 2.4 to 12 mm long, without fully- developed wings. At first they are bright orange to red, then black and tick-like, while the last stages are pear-shaped, brown with white marking on the abdomen and legs and white bands on the last two antennal segments. She asks that anyone who finds a bug which may be BMSB send her photos or bring it into her Abbotsford office in a crush-proof container. She can be reached at: 604-556- 3031 or at:
tracy.hueppelsheuser@
gov.bc.ca For more information see the ministry website:
www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farmi ng-natural-resources-and- industry/agriculture-and- seafood/animal-and-crops/plant- health/bmsb_alert.pdf
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