Pesticide-Treated Seeds

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Pesticide-treated seeds are exempted from review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) as "treated articles". To the extent that a seed is treated to protect the seed, the seed does not fall under the state definition of "pesticide" and is excluded from review by DPR. Seed treatment products must be registered by U.S. EPA and DPR when the coating process is conducted in California. However, there is limited information on which commodities utilize treated seeds, which active ingredients are used for each commodity, and the extent to which treated seeds are used in California.

Public Workshop

DPR held a virtual public workshop on November 15, 2021. The objectives of this workshop were to articulate the current regulatory framework surrounding pesticide-treated seeds, characterize potential for off-site movement of seed coatings, and gather additional information on current use and potential impacts of pesticide-treated seeds. The information gathered as a part of this workshop will inform future actions by DPR.

The workshop was recorded and the video as well as the slides are available at the links below.

Public Comment

DPR requested public comments, due on February 15th 2022, on the specific questions detailed in the link below.

We received 7,841 total comments, 15 of which were unique. Comment letters are posted below.

Additional Information

For content questions, contact:
Jennifer Teerlink
1001 I Street, P. O. Box 4015
Sacramento, CA 95812-4015
Phone: (916) 917-9088
E-mail: TreatedSeeds@cdpr.ca.gov