Canola growers are being advised to contact their grain buyer before using the herbicide quinclorac this growing season.

The Canola Council of Canada is welcoming the recent decision of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues to advance for adoption of the proposed Maximum Residue Limit for quinclorac in canola. However, an international MRL at Codex is not yet formally adopted. The Codex Alimentarius Commission is expected to officially adopt the report of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues at its July 2018 meeting.

“For the canola industry, access to technology and stable trade are both high priorities,” says Jim Everson, president of the Canola Council of Canada (CCC). “Ensuring that exported canola meets the requirements of our foreign markets, including with respect to pesticide residues, is of utmost importance to the value chain. We look forward to the formal adoption of the MRL this summer.”

Processors and exporters continue to have concern about quinclorac-treated canola being accepted in China before the Codex Alimentarius Commission finalizes its process. Processors and exporters have indicated that until the report is formally adopted, they will not commit to accepting canola treated with quinclorac in 2018.

Growers are advised to contact their grain buyer directly before using quinclorac in 2018 or to use other cleavers control methods.