Kasumin Gets Section 18 For 2013

For the fifth straight year, EPA has issued a Section 18 Specific Exemption for the use of Kasumin 2L (kasugamycin, Arysta LifeScience) for controlling the blossom blight phase of fire blight on apples in 2013. This use is for orchards where streptomycin-resistant fire blight bacteria are present. The Section 18 in Michigan is applicable to Antrim, Berrien, Cass, Grand Traverse, Ionia, Kent, Leelanau, Montcalm, Newaygo, Oceana, Ottawa, and Van Buren counties.

This Section 18 exemption only applies to counties where streptomycin-resistant isolates of the fire blight pathogen Erwinia amylovora have been detected. So far Michigan State University (MSU) researcehrs have not detected any streptomycin resistance in eastern Michigan.

For more information on how this label update affects tree fruit growers in Michigan, go to http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/section_18_specific_exemption_granted_for_kasumin_for_fire_blight_control_f.