What is the IR-4 Project?

Since 1963, the IR-4 Project has been the primary entity in the United States to facilitate registrations of conventional pest management and biopesticides on specialty food crops (fruits, vegetables, nuts, herbs, spices) and non-food environmental horticulture crops. IR-4 is sponsored by a grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

The IR-4 Project in Nevada

Nevada stakeholders have worked with IR-4 over the years on new food uses for specialty crops such as alfalfa sprouts, cucumbers, field pennycress, camelina, grasses for forage and hay such as timothy, and teff as a gluten free grain alternative.  These are just a few of the thousands of registrations IR-4 has secured for Nevada growers and others in the west.  Many new registrations and uses have also resulted from IR-4 projects on environmental horticulture crops.

Examples of pest management registration expansions resulting from Nevada requests

Maninder Walia serves as Nevada’s State Liaison Representative to the IR-4 Project. In this role Maninder works with Nevada’s specialty crop stakeholders to identify pest management needs and potential solutions, while advocatimg for IR-4 projects to support Nevada specialty crops.