WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The United States Environmental Protection Agency or EPA said it has approved the use of ten pesticides for use in hemp cultivation. Nine of the products approved are biopesticides and one is a conventional pesticide.
Agro Logistic Systems Inc. is the producer of four of the biopesticides that includes neem oil as an active ingredient. Hawthorne Hydroponics will produce three of the remaining biopesticides, while Marrone Bio Innovations is the producer of two biopesticides.
Hawthorne Hydroponics is also the producer of the sole conventional pesticide approved by the EPA for hemp cultivation. The conventional pesticide contains potassium salts of fatty acids as an active ingredient.
The EPA said that as it receives additional applications to amend product labels to add use on hemp, the agency will process those applications on an ongoing basis and update the list.
In September, the National Industrial Hemp Council or NIHC said it was joined by the American Farm Bureau Federation or AFBF in submitting a comment letter to the EPA regarding adding hemp to the labeling of currently registered pesticide products.
The EPA had requested comments regarding the ten applications that it received seeking to add hemp to the labels of products registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act or FIFRA.
The NIHC and Farm Bureau joint letter urged the EPA to promptly approve these ten applications to provide for use during the 2020 hemp growing season and beyond.
'NIHC believes that for hemp to reach its full potential, it is essential that EPA take a leadership role in consistent review of applications for use on hemp, to facilitate a consistent and equal playing field to the degree possible across state jurisdictions,' the NIHC said in the letter.
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