The Southern Region IR-4 Project coordinates research to assist the registration of pest management tools for specialty crops and minor uses.  Part of the national IR-4 Project, Southern Region IR-4 focuses on the needs and key crops of the southeastern United States.  IR-4 develops required data for conventional chemical pesticides and biopesticides to be used on food and environmental horticulture crops.  This assistance is critical in delivering safe and effective pest management tools to specialty crop growers.

• The Southern Region IR-4 Project coordinates pesticide field research programs in 13 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, as well as Puerto Rico.
• The Southern Region IR-4 is headquartered at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. IR-4's national headquarters is at North Carolina State University.
• Our program oversees residue trials to establish tolerances on food crops, efficacy and crop safety evaluations in food and ornamental production, as well as conducting site visits and maintaining open communication with Field Research Directors.
• Our region cooperates with researchers, extension specialists, commodity groups, designated state liaison representatives, state and federal agencies, IPM centers, and chemical registrants to identify priorities and develop research protocols.
• We review Standard Operating Procedures and provide Quality Control Audits to ensure compliance with Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) as required by the Environmental Protection Agency.

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2022-79111-38469 and 2021-34383-34848, with substantial cooperation and support from the State Agricultural Experiment Stations.  Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.