Crop Protection Research Institute Insecticides Keep Processed Spinach Free of Insects U.S. Pesticide Benefits Case Study No. 12, May 2011 Leonard Gianessi and Ashley Williams
The green peach aphid feeds by sucking juice from the spinach plant. Aphid populations seldom reach sufficient levels to reduce spinach yield [1],[2]. The principal concern surfaces when aphids are detected in the processed spinach product. The broad and crinkled leaves of spinach make removal of aphids by washing at processing plants extremely difficult [2]. In the 1930s the FDA was made aware of consumer complaints regarding the presence of aphids in canned spinach and adopted a standard of 500 aphids per pound of spinach. In 1972 the FDA adopted the current standard which is set at 250 aphids per pound of spinach [3]. Canned or frozen spinach that exceed this standard are subject to seizure due to adulteration
of a food product. It is believed that processor standards are more stringent
than the FDA’s and that processors strive for no aphids in the can. As a result, entire spinach fields may be rejected by the processor if aphids are detected at harvest [2]. In the 1940s, surveys indicated that approximately 20 percent of the spinach acres in Arkansas and Oklahoma were not harvested due to aphid infestations at harvest time [4]. The spinach pack in Arkansas in 1950 was reduced from an estimated 3 million to 100,000 cases due to the presence of insects [5]. Insecticide spraying is initiated when numbers reach 1-2 aphids per leaf. As harvest nears, the threshold for spraying is reduced. Research with insecticides for green peach aphid control showed a reduction from 33 aphids per plant untreated to 3 aphids per plant with the insecticide
treatment [6]. References 1. McLeod, P. 1985. Aphid dynamics on overwintering spinach. Arkansas State Horticultural Society, Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting.
2. McLeod, P, et al. 1998. Prevalence of Erynia neoaphidis (Entomophthorales: Entomophthoraceae)
infections of green peach aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae) on spinach in the Arkansas River Valley. Environmental Entomology. 27(3):796-800.
3. FDA. 1972. Revision of Defect Action Levels for Spinach. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. 4. Harding, J.A. 1959. Tests comparing insecticides for the control of thrips on spinach. Journal of Economic
5. Austin, H.L. 1952. Canned spinach, worms, and politics. In Association of Food and Drug Officials of the United States, Quarterly Bulletin. 16(1): January.
6. Edelson, J.V. 2003. Spinach: comparison of soil applications of insecticides to control aphids, 2003.
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