Grapevine, stone fruit, and tree nut crop response to simulated tetflupyrolimet drift

Off-target herbicide drift away from rice is historically a concern in California, where susceptible crops such as orchards and vineyards are nearby. Tetflupyrolimet is a potent inhibitor of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase that provides excellent grass weed control in rice cropping systems. In efforts to steward tetflupyrolimet before its registration in California, this research was conducted to compare the onset of foliar symptoms from tetflupyrolimet applications onto almond, grapevine, peach, pistachio, plum, and walnut. Tetflupyrolimet was applied to these tree and vine crops at fractional rates of 1/200×, 1/100×, 1/33×, and 1/10× of the 125 g ai ha–1 recommended use rate on rice. Almond, pistachio, and walnut trees also received 1× of the use rate. Tetflupyrolimet treatments were applied on one side of 3- to 4-yr-old almond, peach, pistachio, plum, and walnut trees, and on one side of 25- to 26-yr-old grapevines in 2022 and 2023. Visible injury ratings were carried out weekly to assess symptomology throughout the growing seasons and at leaf-out the following springs. Tree trunk diameter was recorded before and after herbicide applications. No injury was observed to any tested crops, regardless of the tetflupyrolimet application rate. In all orchard crops, tree trunk diameter was not affected by tetflupyrolimet treatments. Likewise, grape yield was not reduced even at the 1/10× tetflupyrolimet fractional rate. Since no injury symptoms were recorded, this research suggests that tetflupyrolimet can be safely used on nearby rice fields and might be a target for future registration consideration for use on orchard and vineyard crops.