Mancozeb Update

Written by

Phil Brannen

March 14, 2025

I know that many of you have had questions concerning mancozeb use this year and moving forward. Katie Gold (Cornell University) reached out to Kelly Sherman with the Pesticide Re-Evaluation Division concerning mancozeb reregistration, and she did receive an informative e-mail response. There is still no specific answer relative the EPA actions concerning mancozeb use in grapes for the long term. However, Kelly did provide some useful guidance — assuming it holds true. In her response e-mail, Ms. Sherman states that “If we do finalize changes to mancozeb (either new mitigation or use cancellations) that affect grape growers, I believe that the earliest growing season that would be affected is the 2027 season, but likely later than that.” I think that response gives us some breathing room for now, and it tells me that you can likely purchase and utilize mancozeb as desired for this season and the next. Anyway, I appreciate Katie having initiated this conversation with EPA and sharing the response. As always, please contact your local county agent should you have questions or needs this year. We look forward to an excellent grape season.

Posted in: Pest management Guidelines, Uncategorized

Tags: disease management, EPA guidelines

Phil Brannen

Phil Brannen is a Professor in the Plant Pathology Department at the University of Georgia. He attended the University of Georgia for his undergraduate degree in Plant Protection and Pest Management, where he also received an M.S. in Plant Pathology, followed by a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Auburn University. He has extensive experience with disease management programs in numerous cropping systems. He serves as the extension fruit pathologist for Georgia – conducting research and technology transfer for multiple fruit commodities. His efforts are directed towards developing IPM practices to solve disease issues and technology transfer of disease-management methods to commercial fruit producers. He also teaches the graduate level Field Pathology Course, the History of Plant Diseases and their Impact on Human Societies Course, team-teaches the IPM Course, coordinates the Viticulture and Enology in the Mediterranean Region Course (Cortona, Italy), and guest lectures in numerous other courses throughout the year.