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New Mexico Pecan Growers Battle To Use Restricted Pesticide

NMSU photo by Darren Phillips

   A plea from New Mexico's pecan growers to use a restricted pesticide against insect infestations is drawing opposition from advocates for the honey bee.  Environmentalists are protesting allowing an emergency exception to a ruling by a federal judge last year that found sulfoxaflor is highly toxic to bees and should be discontinued.

The pecan growers are asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the exception, saying the pesticide is the only way to combat insect infestations that are threatening their crops.

Though pecans are wind-pollinated and don't rely on bees, honey bees can travel as far as three miles for food and therefor can be exposed to pesticides.

New Mexico is the second most productive pecan-growing states in the U.S., surpassed only by Georgia.

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Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.sfnewmexican.com

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.