SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Despite long-standing concerns about pesticide exposure, a report issued Tuesday suggests California strawberry growers will have to keep using a contentious set of fumigants to keep the state's $2.3 billion strawberry industry competitive, even as the state ultimately seeks to restrict the chemicals' use.
Fumigants are gaseous pesticides that are injected into soil before strawberries and other crops are planted.
Methyl bromide, the best known pesticide of this type, was phased out by international treaty because it depletes the Earth's protective ozone layer. But it is still used in very limited quantities in California, which produces 88 percent of the nation's strawberries.
The report released by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation suggests growers should try to stop using methyl bromide and its numerous replacements, but acknowledges the industry will need to keep using fumigants for years to avoid a dip in revenue.
"Even with full commitment to implement this action plan, the strawberry industry will need to continue its use of fumigants for years to remain viable," the report said.
The report says berry growers need more economic support to transition to non-fumigant options, including grants or crop insurance.
In recent years, the California Strawberry Commission has poured millions of dollars into university research to look at alternatives to fumigation, such as crop rotation, eliminating soil pathogens by using natural sources of carbon and sterilizing soil with steam.
The commission and the state are also working on a research partnership looking for alternatives to fumigants. The $500,000, three-year project will focus on growing strawberries in peat, tree bark or other non-soil substances that are disease-free.
"This report is about bringing about the change we need," said Brian Leahy, the department's director. "The industry can grow strawberries without fumigants, but it's going to take a whole new program."
While some growers have switched to using chemicals such as chloropicrin and metam sodium as alternatives, much more work remains, the report underscored.
"The USDA, (University of California) and the California strawberry industry have made a considerable investment in research on non-fumigant options," the report said. "Although many of these have been evaluated, no single option has emerged as the best replacement for methyl bromide."
Leahy said within the next two years, the department plans to restrict the use of chloropicrin, including applying the chemical within a certain buffer zone to minimize human exposure.
The working group of scientists and other specialists who wrote the report also recommended that researchers, the state and industry offer more online resources, grower test plots and communications strategies to let farmers, pest control advisers and farm advisers know how to adopt non-fumigant options.
