Effect of Regulation of Pheromones as Chemical Pesticides on Their Viability in Insect Control

Mating disruption of insect pests in agricultural production by application of insect sex pheromones from point source dispensers has the potential for supplanting many chemical pesticide applications, as do several other pheromone strategies. A large number of insect pheromones are being evaluated or proposed for registration as commercial pest control agents. But, each component, under current regulations, must be subjected to much the same testing and toxicity standards as potential chemical pesticide active ingredients; this threatens to price pheromone registration beyond economic reason. High species specificity, formulation complexity and low per hectare rates all limit the market viability of a given pheromone: if registration costs are also high the product is dead. Recent proposals to ease the pesticide registration requirements for "low-risk" biorational schemes are flawed in that the unequal enforcement provisions are unfair and probably illegal, plus they reinforce the pheromones/pesticide connection. Unless and until pheromones are removed from regulation as chemical pesticides, there will be no significant replacement of high-risk pest control chemicals by pheromones.