Corteva Agriscience has announced its voluntarily ending production of Lorsban or chlorpyrifos. University of Minnesota Extension Integrated Pest Management Specialist Bruce Potter says it’s always disappointing to lose one of the more useful tools producers have to battle pests. However, there will be a generic version offered and Lorsban will still be available for a short time for use this year.
Potter says not having Lorsban available in the future is compounded by the earlier loss of some neonicotinoids.
Potter says there are some other insecticides producers can use on sucking insects but not very many to control the chewing insects such as caterpillars.
Corteva officials says sales of chlorpyrifos have declined steadily in the past 20 years. The U.S. Geological Survey showed that in 2016, use of chlorpyrifos dropped below 5 million pounds annually, down from a peak of 13 million pounds in 1994.
