On September 7, 2023, the General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued a letter soliciting opinions on the implementation of prohibited management measures for four highly toxic pesticides, including omethoate. The opinions stipulate that starting from December 1, 2023, the issuing authority will revoke the registration of omethoate, carbofuran, methomyl, and aldicarb preparations, prohibit production, and those that have been legally produced can be sold and used within the quality assurance period. Starting from December 1, 2025, the sale and use of the above products are prohibited; Only retain the raw material production and export of raw material production enterprises, and implement closed operation supervision. The release of the opinion may herald the departure of KPMG, which has been listed in China for over half a century since the 1970s, from the Chinese agricultural market.
Carbofuran is a carbamate insecticide developed jointly by FMC and Bayer, which is used to kill mites, insects, and nematodes. It has internal absorption, contact killing, and gastric toxicity effects, and has a certain degree of egg killing effect. It has a long shelf life and generally has a half-life of 30-60 days in soil. Previously commonly used in paddy fields to control rice borers, rice planthoppers, rice thrips, rice leafhoppers, and rice gall midges; Prevention and control of cotton aphids, cotton thrips, ground tigers, and nematodes in cotton fields. Currently, it is mainly used in non crop fields such as greening trees and gardens to prevent and control land tigers, aphids, longicorn beetles, mealworms, fruit flies, transparent winged moths, stem bees, and root soil bugs.
Carbofuran is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, but unlike other carbamate insecticides, its binding to cholinesterase is irreversible, resulting in high toxicity. Carbofuran can be absorbed by plant roots and transported to various organs of the plant. It accumulates more in the leaves, especially at the leaf margins, and has a lower content in the fruit. When pests chew and suck on the leaf juice of poisonous plants or bite on poisonous tissues, acetylcholinesterase in the pest’s body is inhibited, causing neurotoxicity and death. The half-life in soil is 30-60 days. Despite being used for so many years, there are still reports of resistance to carbofuran.
Carbofuran is a broad-spectrum, efficient, and low residue insecticide widely used in the agricultural field. However, in recent years, carbofuran has been gradually phased out and is almost certain to fully exit the Chinese market by the end of 2025. This significant change will have a certain impact on China’s agriculture. However, in the long run, this may be a necessary step for sustainable agricultural development and an inevitable trend for the development of environmentally friendly agriculture.
Post time: Sep-12-2023