 Hi everyone, my name is Caitlin Kessimer and I'm an assistant professor and extension demologist with Auburn University in the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Today I'm going to talk about legal pesticide use in Alabama, specifically as it relates to hemp. With such a new crop there's been some confusion about what pesticides can and cannot be applied to this crop, so hopefully today I'll be able to clear up that for everybody. So to begin I'd like to give a little background about this plant and its history just so you understand how we got here with hemp and what this means moving forward for crop regulations, chemical use, and any other restrictions you may experience if you end up growing hemp. So when I talk about hemp I'm talking about the plant cannabis sativa. So the genus cannabis includes multiple species that have a lot of genetic variation. They produce unique compounds that we don't see in any other plants. And broadly speaking cannabis can be divided into two distinct groups based on their uses. And that's going to be marijuana and hemp. And so while used for different purposes obviously marijuana and hemp are impossible to separate visually from each other. So if you're in a field and you have marijuana growing next to hemp you won't be able to look at them and distinguish which one is hemp and which one is marijuana. Additionally the two species of plants they can interbreed, these two groups can interbreed with each other. So when we're talking about marijuana it is bred and grown specifically for its THC content. That THC is that psychoactive compound you're looking for. So anything that has a THC content that is higher than 0.3% in cannabis sativa is automatically marijuana. And primarily these plants marijuana are grown indoors. It's a very carefully controlled environment when you're growing marijuana. On the flip side hemp has a THC content that is much much lower. You're not looking for that psychoactive compound. So anything that has a THC content that is less than 0.3 is hemp. You can grow it indoors similar to marijuana but you can also grow it outdoors in a variety of ways like a row crop. And it's bred and grown for a variety of end uses such as fiber seed or what many people are familiar with CBD which has medicinal compounds and is used for wellness. So while hemp may seem like a new crop it's actually one of the first agricultural crops dating back thousands of years to modern day China and Taiwan. It was used for everyday materials like food, ropes, paper, building materials, fuel and then eventually it started spreading across continents and civilization and made its way to North America by the 1600s where it was grown extensively and then also used in food and fuel, clothing, paper. It was so prevalent that early laws even required certain farmers to grow it in some of those early colonies. However, by the second half of the 19th century we started to see a decline in hemp production. A lot of this had to do with other fiber crops became less expensive and less labor intensive to produce. Cotton is a really good example of this and so we started to see a big decline in hemp production around the turn of the century. Hemp production really took another hit in 1937 with the Marijuana Tax Act which placed a tax on all cannabis products. So remember that hemp is lumped in with marijuana because it's the same species cannabis sativa and so we know that hemp is versatile and has a lot of end uses but this tax made it cost prohibitive for growers which caused production to really decline further. And the final nail in the coffin really was the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 which classified hemp as a Schedule 1 drug and so we really didn't see any more hemp being grown for several decades. And so what we're experiencing now is this resurgence, this revitalization of this crop that a lot of people think is new but really dates back thousands of years. And so we can thank this resurgence to the most recent farm bills in 2014 and 2018. So the 2014 Farm Bill allowed universities and states departments of agriculture to grow hemp under a pilot program for research purposes. Then in 2018 the most recent Farm Bill had an amendment that removed hemp from that Controlled Substances Act of 1970, took it out of the classification as a Schedule 1 drug and reclassified it as an agricultural commodity. And so this really opened the door for a lot more states to grow it and so in 2019 we saw a huge increase in acreage. We had over half a million acres licensed in over 30 states in 2019 which was a 455% increase from 2018. And so that's really where we are right now as we start 2020 is the majority of states are signing on a huge increase in licensed acres and licensed growers able to grow this crop. So in terms of Alabama, 2019 was Alabama's first legal growing season. Growers and researchers alike obviously need to be licensed through the State Department of Agriculture and Industries. And we are gearing up for our second vehicle growing season. So we will obviously see a large increase, both in acreage and number of growers that are licensed. As this is only our second growing season in modern times, we are learning more and more every day about this crop. It's not your typical crop like corn, cotton, soybeans or fruits and vegetables where we've been growing it consecutively for hundreds or thousands of years where we have a really good grasp of agronomic practices or pest management techniques and we're just perfecting it or making it more sustainable. We really are just learning as we go and learning more and more in terms of pest control about the insects, weeds and diseases in hemp and how best to control them. So I've heard some people say that hemp is a great crop because it's immune to any sorts of insects or diseases and so I'm here to tell you that is false. Hemp will in fact get insects and weeds and diseases, it'll get all of them in Alabama. So this chart, while not an exhaustive list, it's a much older one that I've modified to fit some of the pests that we'll encounter here in the southeast and Alabama. And really what you'll notice is that as soon as the plants go into the ground, whether it's a seed or a seedling, all the way up to pre-harvest and post-harvest really, the plant is going to be vulnerable to attack by insects and every single part of that plant from the young seedlings, the roots in the ground, the stems, the leaves, the flowers, the buds, all of that is going to be fed on by different insects. And then if you're growing indoors versus growing outdoors, there's going to be a different suite of insects and this isn't to say that you're going to get every single one of these pests in your field if you grow hemp. But the take-home message is that insects will attack your hemp throughout the growing season and so you're going to have to be vigilant and have a proactive integrated pest management plan in place even before you put your hemp in the ground or in the greenhouse or in your high tunnel, you need to be prepared to have a variety of insects attacking your hemp. In the same vein, you're going to also get diseases and weeds. This list of diseases comes from our plant pathologist, Dr. Cassie Conner and her experiences in hemp in 2019. Again, this is not an exhaustive list and we may see different and or more diseases in 2020 or in the future depending on weather and environmental conditions. For example, last year we had an extended drought for much of the summer. If we end up with a lot of rain this year, we may see different diseases pop up. And this list of weeds comes from our regional extension agent, Brandon Dillard. If you grew hemp, then you know weeds were a big problem. And trying to get rid of them in hemp is going to be a major headache moving forward. So again, the take-home message here is hemp is not immune to any of the diseases. We have many of them in Alabama and they're going to vary throughout the region depending on your growing conditions and the environment and the weather obviously. But again, it's important to have a proactive IPM plan in place. But this talk is about pesticides. And so while it's inevitable that you're going to have multiple pests while growing hemp given that we haven't grown this crop in modern times, we don't have current research to support the best pesticide use to control those pests. And so I want to be very clear when I say we don't have research on pesticide use, residues or efficacy on hemp in Alabama. Again, it's not like a typical crop like cotton where we've been doing insecticide efficacy trials and we can say this product works. This is what you're going to get when you apply it in terms of trying to kill these insects. We just don't have that research yet. We're working on it, but we can't make those recommendations in terms of pesticide use on hemp in the state of Alabama. So pesticides, whether it's fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, they're all federally regulated and the body that regulates these is the EPA or the Environmental Protection Agency. There are the group that writes all these labels that you follow when you're implying chemical use, when you're spraying on a crop. And so when it comes to hemp, because it is so very new in the modern era, only a handful of pesticides actually have hemp on the label. This is because we haven't been able to legally grow it and conduct research on the crop for the last several decades. However, if you've been keeping up, then you remember that just a few months ago back in December of 2019, the EPA released a list of 10 pesticides that have approved labels for hemp, but these are approved federal labels for hemp. And so the issue is it's been left up to individual states to decide what can be applied to hemp. So if you're growing and licensed in Alabama, you have to follow Alabama guidelines. So even though a product may be federally labeled by the EPA, and this goes for any crop, it has to be individually registered within the state that you are growing and using a chemical. And so if you saw that list of products that the EPA approved for hemp, please don't assume that you can use all of those in Alabama. What that means, like I said, is that these products now have a federal label for hemp, but it doesn't mean that all the products are registered in every single one of the 50 states. In this particular instance, not all of these 10 products are registered in Alabama. And so if you're using this list that came out in December from the EPA as a guideline for Alabama hemp, you will actually be spraying off label and subject to crop destruct. So in terms of Alabama hemp, we have decided to follow the Washington state model. So what does this mean? So this means that Washington state was one of the first states that upon growing cannabis legally, they've adopted a set of guidelines that is compliant with federal regulations. And so it is compliant with the EPA, but also is compliant with their state registration. And so to be compliant with pesticide use in hemp, any chemicals used on hemp must both be registered with the EPA and the Alabama Department of Agriculture. And so what that means is it has to have a federal label with the EPA and registered in the state. So if you look at this link that's posted here, you can verify using the EPA registration number and see if it has a state registration in Alabama. Additionally, to apply chemicals on hemp, the active ingredient has to be exempt from tolerance of all food crops because hemp is being used as a food crop in many instances. And finally, the label has to be broad enough to not exclude hemp. So basically it has to have directions for use on unspecified food crops, whether indoor or outdoor or unspecified herbs. And so it can't specifically exclude hemp if you're going to use it. So when it comes to applying chemicals, it is completely the responsibility of the grower who is applying the pesticide to make sure it can be used legally and to follow all label directions. And so this means following the rate, following all safety guidelines. So worker protection standards, using personal protective equipment, basically read the label because that is written by the EPA and that is federal law. And so if you're not following the label, then you're technically breaking federal law. And specifically when it comes to hemp, I would strongly recommend before you apply any chemical, check with your processor or your buyer, whoever is going to receive your hemp at the end of the season, make sure they approve of the chemical you're using. They may have separate restrictions about chemical use that is different than the state and EPA guidelines. And so they may not accept your product if it has certain chemicals that have been applied to it throughout the growing season. And so make sure that they don't have a more restrictive list than what this list is going to be. And finally, be cautious of any lists of approved pesticides that are not released by the Alabama Department of Ag and Industries or the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. If it comes from someone else, an outside body, then it may have a chemical that isn't approved and you do not want to be applying a non-approved chemical. Okay, so the all important question, what can you actually use? We've spent quite some time combing through labels and have put together a list of 93 products that will be approved for use in 2020 for Alabama hemp. This list is currently being published by ACES, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, is going to be put in a downloadable hemp guide and be posted on our website at www.aces.edu, aces.edu. It's in the final stages now. We're trying to get it out as quickly as possible. I know this is important information, but it's a lot of work to get these labels combed through and this list made, but it will certainly be up as soon as possible before really the growing season kicks off here in a couple weeks. One way that you can make sure you find out about this list as soon as possible is to subscribe to our newsletter, the Alabama IPM Communicator. This newsletter goes out every two weeks with relevant IPM information. As soon as we have this published list of 93 products, we'll stick it in our newsletter and you'll have access to it. If you go to www.aces.edu slash IPM Communicator and sign up via email, we'll send you a newsletter every two weeks. You'll also get information about any hemp meetings we're having around the state, our current research from this summer once we kick off our research program, so it's a great way to stay connected to what's going on with Extension System in Alabama. Finally, if you have any questions about what I spoke about today or any information on hemp pests in general, feel free to contact me. Here's my email and my office number. Hope this was helpful. Thanks for listening.