The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority has revealed there are currently three APVMA-issued permits for approved chemical treatments of fall armyworm in oats.
The organisation had previously come under some criticism for what growers and agricultural industry leaders said were unacceptable delays in responding to emergency use permit requests.
In the four years since the fall armyworm was discovered in Queensland it's become an endemic pest and the APVMA has received dozens of requests for emergency use permits for chemical treatments to combat the invasive vermin in sorghum, oats and other crop varieties.
The APMVA advised for current EUPs with a use pattern for oats, the withholding periods ranged from nil to 14 days.
The permit PER90820 (in force from March 30, 2021 to March 31, 2027) allowed Fawligen Fall Armyworm Biocontrol to be used on oats while permit 91477 covered the product Spodovir Plus. Both products have no withholding period needed when used as directed.
Permit 85447 (in force from April 16 2018 to April 30, 2026) covers two products, Titan Alpha-Cypermethrin 250 SC Insecticide and Fastac Duo Insecticide. Under that there is to be no harvesting for seven days or grazing of stubble for 14 days after application.
On April 8 an APVMA spokesperson said the organisation which is the independent statutory authority responsible for assessing and registering agricultural and veterinary chemicals proposed for supply and use nationally, had received 63 emergency use permit applications for fall armyworm between January 2020 and April 2024.
"There were 53 permits issued from the 63 applications received to date (with the) first application received 30 Jan 2020," the spokesperson said.
"Of the remainder, five applications were withdrawn, two were refused, and three are currently in progress.
"The two permit applications that were refused did not satisfy the legislative safety, efficacy or trade criteria; however uses were approved for alternative products in the same crops."
The spokesperson said all permits issued covered the whole state.
"None were limited to specific parts of Queensland," the spokesperson said.
"Most permits issued included other states and territories (however) 19 applications were limited to specific states or territories.
"Note that Victoria is often excluded where their control-of-use legislation means a permit is not required to legalise the off-label use in that state."
However, the APMVA said the average timeframe to issue 96 per cent of EUP was 26 days.
The authority said there were 43 EUP applications made in 2020, 13 in 2021, one in 2022, four in 2023 and two in 2024.
Crops approved under permit by year
2020: Winter cereals, cereal grains, fall armyworm pheromone monitoring traps located in peri-urban areas, in-crop and natural areas, herbs, cotton, sweet corn, various vegetables, citrus, soybean, pulses, chickpeas, ornamentals, tropical and subtropical fruits inedible peel, macadamias, berry fruit, coffee, pistachios, forage brassicas, grapes, pome fruit, stone fruits, various vegetables, almonds, grapes, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, celery, capsicum, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, leafy vegetables, Chinese leafy vegetables, maize, sorghum, sweet corn, millet, peanut, sunflower, brassicas, avocados, leek, spring onion, shallot, gangland, brassica leafy vegetables, various leafy vegetables, celery, turf production, bulb onions, non-bearing ornamentals, mango, persimmon, brassica vegetables, capsicums, sweet corn, beans, peas, potatoes, turf, shallots, spring onion, fruiting veg (cucurbit and non cucurbit), legume vegetables, sweet potato, radish, swede, turnip, lettuce, root and tuber veg, celeriac, silverbeet, myoga, ginger, rakkyo, spinach, brassica leafy vegetables, bulb onions, fennel bulb, leeks, sugarcane, pulses, cotton, pigeon pea, olives, nursery stock (non-food/non-bearing), bulb onions, tree nuts, strawberries, parsley, root and tuber vegetables, canola, field peas, faba beans, lentils, vetch, barley, wheat, lupins, navy beans, mung beans, sorghum, maize cereals, 'Wheat, similar grains, and pseuodcereals without husks' crop group, pastures, oilseeds (including canola and sunflower), rice, berry fruit, ornamentals.
2021: Peanuts, rice, ginger, maize, cereal grains, oilseed, pulses, fodder and forage crops, cotton, sweetcorn, root and tuber vegetables, legume vegetables, ornamentals flowers and plants, sorghum, fruiting vegetable other than cucurbits, leafy vegetables, maize cereals, millet, sorghum.
022: Brassica vegetables, Root and tuber vegetables, leafy vegetables, brassica leafy vegetables, sweet corn, strawberries, lettuce, cucurbits, legume vegetables, fruiting vegetables, grapes.
023: Wheat, similar grains, and pseudo cereals without husks' crop group, maize cereals, rice, sorghum, maize, sweet corn, cereal grains, oilseed, pulses, fodder and forage crops, cotton, sweetcorn, root and tuber vegetables, legume vegetables, fruiting vegetable other than cucurbits, leafy vegetables, ornamentals flowers and plants.
2024: Maize, popcorn, oats.
Know more or got a news tip? Contact Alison Paterson on 0437 861 082.
