The 2025 IR-4 Food Use Workshop prioritizes new solutions for specialty crop growers
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EmailGrowers and researchers prioritize new pest control options for the 2026 IR-4 field program.
The IR-4 Project helps specialty crop growers gain access to pest management tools so they can produce healthy, abundant harvests and increase their profitability. Specialty crops include fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts and other food crops, as well as flowers, shrubs and landscape plants—all of which are vital to public wellbeing.
The crop protection industry generally focuses their efforts on major crops, leaving specialty crop growers with fewer tools to effectively manage pests. The IR-4 Project develops data necessary for the registration of safe and effective pest management solutions with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). IR-4 also supports the registration of specialty uses on major crops such as corn, soybeans and cotton.
Since 1963, the IR-4 Project has been instrumental in delivering pest management solutions to specialty crop growers by developing research data to support new EPA tolerances and labeled product uses. IR-4’s food crop research cycle is unique in that it invites all stakeholders to the table through the annual Food Use Workshop. The 2025 meeting took place Sept. 9-11 in Denver, Colorado, where participants worked together to hone a long list of requested projects down to a fundable number of projects.
At the 2025 Food Use Workshop, research priorities for the 2026 field program were selected; projects prioritized fruits, vegetables, nuts, field and oil crops, herbs and other crops in the United States and Canada. Approximately 131 people attended the three-day meeting (99 in person and 32 virtually), including specialty crop researchers, extension specialists, representatives of commodity and industry groups across the country, personnel from EPA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, IR-4, the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada that conducts Canadian counterpart of minor use program, and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, the Canadian counterpart of U.S. EPA.
Representing Michigan’s fruit and vegetable interests, the workshop was attended by Michigan State University’s Mary Hausbeck, Timothy Miles, Joshua Miranda, Nicole Soldan, Celeste Wheeler and Amber DeVisser. Representing a Michigan growers’ group was Pete Nelson of the Cherry Marketing Institute. Also representing the IR-4 North Central Region was Daniel Heider of Wisconsin, Allison Robinson of Ohio, Ramawater Yadav of Ohio, Ashley Leach of Ohio, Andres Sanabria-Velazquez of Ohio, Richard Hack of Indiana, Govinda Shrestha of South Dakota, Ivair Valmorbida Missouri, Brian Jenks of North Dakota and Mohammad Babadoost of Illinois. Representing the North Central Region grower’s groups was Robert Kaldunski of Wisconsin Ginseng, Michelle Starke of Covercress, and Brent Bean and Ethan Triplett of Sorghum Checkoff.
The prioritization process focused on the most critical pest management needs from all regions and all disciplines for each commodity. Participants were provided a list of 248 pesticides nominated as “A” priorities prior to the Food Use Workshop. As a group, participants ranked products based on availability and efficacy of alternative pest management tools (including ongoing projects for the same need and resistance management), damage potential of target pests, performance and crop safety of the chemical in managing the target pests, compatibility of the proposed chemical candidate with integrated pest management, uses currently covered by Section 18 emergency exemptions, and harmonization implications due to lack of international maximum residue limits.
Based on projected budget appropriations for IR-4 in 2025, only 35 “A” priority projects throughout the disciplines were selected by consensus. An “A” priority triggers IR-4 to begin the field residue program during the following season and complete it within 30 months. The timeline will be shortened when IR-4 joins the company’s petition submission schedule with the expectation that a complete data package be submitted to the EPA in 16-24 months.
In addition to the above projects that require pesticide residue analysis under GLP, 13 “H+” (high priority plus) efficacy/crop safety projects have been selected, because potential registrants want to see efficacy data before IR-4 conducts full residue studies, or the registrant requires only efficacy data to expand their label to include a certain crop or pest.
Thirty-five projects important for Michigan and the North Central Region were selected at the 2025 Food Use Workshop (Tables 1 and .2).
The following new candidate priority “A” and “H+” projects listed were provided at the IR-4 national research planning meeting on Oct 27-29, 2025. A complete listing can be found on the 2025 IR-4 Food Use Workshop website.
Table 1. Priority "A" projects for North Central fruits and vegetables.
| Group | Commodity | Chemical | Reasons for Need |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03-07A | Onion (dry bulb) | Pyraflufen-ethyl | Control annual weeds in young onions |
| 04-16A | Spinach | Metribuzin | Crop rotation |
| 04-16A | Lettuce (greenhouse) | Spidoxamat | Aphid and whitefly control |
| 06-22A | Bean (snap) | Isocycloseram (ISM-555) | Seed corn maggot control |
| 06-22CE | Bean, lima (succulent and dried shelled) | Metribuzin | Crop rotation |
| 06-22F | Pea (dry) | Topramezone | Control of kochia and other broadleaf weeds |
| 08-10A | Tomato (field) | Maleic hydrazide | Broomrape control |
| 08-10A | Tomato (greenhouse) | Diflubenzuron | Psyllid control |
| 12-12A | Cherry | Flazasulfuron | Control of annual broadleaf weeds, nutsedge, and annual grasses |
| 12-12B | Peach | Flazasulfuron | Control of annual broadleaf weeds, nutsedge, and annual grasses |
| 12-12C | Plum | Flazasulfuron | Control of annual broadleaf weeds, nutsedge, and annual grasses |
| 13-07B | Blueberry (highbush) | Afidopyropen | Aphid control |
| 13-07F | Grape | Inpyrfluxam | Black rot control |
| 13-07G | Strawberry (greenhouse transplant) | Mandipropamid | Phytophthora control for plants grown in greenhouse for sale to consumer |
| 13-07G | Strawberry (greenhouse) | Spidoxamat | Control of multiple arthropods |
| 15-22B | Buckwheat | Quizalofop | Control of grass weeds |
| 15-22D | Corn (sweet) | Amicarbazone | Weed control. Alternative to Atrazine |
| 15-22E | Sorghum (grain) | Bifenthrin | Chinch bug control |
| 20B | Safflower | Topramezone | Control of kochia and other broadleaf weeds |
| 25AB | Basil (greenhouse transplant) | Mandipropamid | Phytophthora control for plants grown in greenhouse for sale to consumer |
| 25AB | Mint (greenhouse transplant) | Mandipropamid | Phytophthora control for plants grown in greenhouse for sale to consumer |
| 99 | Field pennycress (oil seed) | Clopyralid | Weed control prior to crop emergence |
| 99 | Hops | Fluoxapiprolin | Control of hop downy mildew |
| 99 | Hops | Afidopyropen | Control of aphids and leafhoppers |
Table 2. High priority needs for efficacy/crop safety projects for North Central fruits and vegetables.
| Group | Commodity | Chemical | Reasons for Need |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01AB | Beet (garden) | Metamitron | Control of pigweeds, lambsquarters, and other weeds |
| 08-10A | Tomato (greenhouse) | Tiapyrachlor | Control of aphids, whiteflies, and leafhoppers |
| 08-10BC | Pepper (greenhouse transplant) | Tiapyrachlor | Control of aphids, whiteflies, and leafhoppers |
| 09B | Cucumber | Isocycloseram (ISM-555) | Seed corn maggot control |
| 13-07B | Blueberry (highbush) | Pyroxasulfone | Control of broadleaf weeds, grasses, and nutsedge |
| 20B | Safflower | Tiapyrachlor | Control of lygus hesperus |
| 13-07F | Grape | Epyrifenacil | Control of annual grasses and broadleaf weeds |
| 99 | Honeybee | Beauvaria bassiana | Varroa mite control |
| 01AB | Radish | Isocycloseram | Cabbage maggot control |
| 13-07B | Blueberry | Icafolin-methyl | Control of annual grasses and broadleaf weeds |
| 06-22BD | Pea | Isocycloseram | Seed corn maggot control |
