A2o*Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 15, 1992 Farmers Must Reconsider Application, Use Of Pesticides ANDY ANDREWS Lancaster Farming Staff LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) Traditions often die hard, but some traditions are worth chang ing because of the long-range environmental impact they may have on us all In the past, when applying pesti cides to their field, many fanners sometimes passed over a sinkhole and thought little of it. The boom sprayer stayed on, or the manure applicator kept rotating. But now, geologists know that sinkholes are a direct source to groundwater and that water could be you or your neighbor’s homestead well water. That’s the message delivered on Tuesday to those attending the 31 st annual Lancaster County Crops and Soils Day. John Yocum, head of the Landisville Southeastern Agronomy Research Laboratory, spoke on the topic, “Limiting the Environmental Impact of Pesticides.” “If we didn’t have a problem, we wouldn’t have to limit the impact,” said Yocum. Yocum spoke about recent studies under taken by various agencies that dis covered that, indeed, some herbi cides were turning up in wells. Perception of problem “Although we have not found very many wells that are above the advisory levels ... there is a per ception of a problem here,” he said. While the evidence of pesticides showing up in wells is extremely low, the public perceives it as a problem that agriculture must address. WOOD TRUSS OjIJiDW^JtfTfUQ, MANUFACTURERS of'' LAMINATED RAFTERS and WOOD ROOF TRUSSES 701 E. Linden St., RICHLAND, PA 17057 Telephone: 717-866-6581 Fax: 717-866-7237 MEMBER ***** ■UIIOiM * sso<>^ He spoke about a Midwest study of pesticide contamination of wells that examined about43o wells and found that only 13 percent had evi dence of pesticide contamination. In the Mississippi River area, sam ples were taken at various areas and researchers determined that atrazine was detected year-round in most of the sample locations. “They calculated that 1 percent of the applied atrazine out there in the Midwest on those farms would up at the mouth of the Mississip pi,” said Yocum. “That’s not good, no matter how you look at it” Watching application site In this area, according to Yocum, farmers must concentrate on watching the application site and being especially careful about surface water pollution. Nitrates from manure are also of top con cern, a problem that farmers must leant to manage. Also, the methods in which far mers apply pesticides have to be carefully considered. Yocum stressed the importance of safety when applying pesticides. In some cases, farmers careless ly HU their sprayers with a garden hose and don’t use some type of flow restrictor. “And some of that happened in Lancaster County this past year," he said, “where people were fill ing sprayers with garden hoses and it backsiphoned and they wound up with spray materials in their wells.” Prevent backsiphoning A restrictor or some type of flow Family Farm to Architectural Innovation \ TUDOR ARCH check valve is critical to prevent backsiphoning into the well. It could happen that, in certain instances, a hose used to fill the pesticide tank could be lying there, and “somebody comes into the farm during the summer when it’s hot and dry, they pick up that hose and try to take a drink of water, don’t they?” Certain wells that are hand-dug rather than concrete-cased can fall victim to pesticide or nitrate pollu tion. Yocum said farmers should make sure the pesticide mixing and storage sites are at least SO feet away from the well head and the well be protected with casing. Also, containers should be dis posed of properly, away from ponds and other sources of ground water infiltration. Also, following good conserva tion practices is the key by keeping soil erosion from carrying the herbicides and nitrates to a water source. “Maybe we need to do less moldboard plowing, more chisel plowing, or more no-tilling so that we have more residue on the surface.” Be more conscientious Yocum advised the farmers to be more conscientious in manag ing the soil. ‘ ‘Don’t plow right out against the road,” he said, because rain drainage can easily cany the soil and any pesticides or nitrates applied to groundwater sources. Grass buffer zones should be used near roadways, ponds, and creeks. “I think we need to do some of these things on our own before they’re dictated to us,” he said. Yocum- discusssed several stu- Over Thirty Years Of Quality Service STRAIGHT BEAM dies that indicated that pre emergent pesticides are more like ly to leach to groundwater than those applied post-emergence to a plant that is growing. Also, several new technological developments are paving the way to more safety both for farmers and the environ ment, including: • New 2Vi -gallon no-glug pes ticide containers that contain air sections to prevent glugging, which may be safer to use and less likely to cause a spill. • Laminated pesticide bags which are easier to use, won’t wet the pesticide, and can be incinerated. • “Lock and load” systems which are made to easily attach to mixing tank or drop tank to drop pesticide direcdy to applicator hopper (a totally closed system). • Soluable packs, which contain the exact amounts of needed pesti cide which, when dropped into the tank, readily dissolve. There’s no container to dispose of and no con tact to the farmer. • Returnable containers, which some companies are working on to reuse. The fanner would simply return the containers for a refund. “The nice thing about these is that you don’t have to handle the pesticide.” said Yocum. Plants stressed “Very seldom a year goes by where the plants aren’t stressed— they’re either too wet, too dry, too cold ” said O. El wood Hatley, Penn State agronomist, who spoke about “Cropping Strategies for Environmental Stress.” To combat what may turn out to GOTHIC ARCH be another dry year much like 1991. for 1992 the best defense is a good set of records and knowing what types of crop to plant under certain soil conditions, according to Halley. “1991 was a stressful year on plants,” he said. “Even though we don’tknow what the summer holds out there, I can tell you right now, the time when we’ll have the hot test and driest period of the year... if we’re going on probabilities, that’s probably July and August.’* Com and any other plants are most sensitive to drought and heat stress during their early reproduc tive phases. For com, that comes about 60 days after emergence, at silking and pollination. During that time, a window of 10 days opens when the plant can recover if enough rainfall occurs. Soybeans sensitive Soybeans are most sensitive at early pod set. In 1991, many of the flowers fell off because of a lack of moisture. At planting, where the seeds require substantial moisture, is another critical time. Farmers must keep careful records of their soil types and records on a yearly basis on how crops were affected by rainfall in order to more adequately prepare for a possible dry and stress-filled growing season. Also, the weather patterns we are in now, with the El Nino effect and the cycling nature of Pennsyl vania patterns, dictate that farmers more carefully consider soil types, planting conditions, and selecting appropriate hybrids to deal with times of possible plant stress. UNIVERSAL ARCH MANUFACTURERS OF • GLU-LAM ARCHES • GLU-LAM BEAMS • GLU-LAM TREATED POSTS • ROOF TRUSSES • FLOOR TRUSSES • T&G AND V-GROOVE DECKING • WE CUSTOM DESIGN OR MATCH EXISTING BUILDINGS • COMPLETE LINE OF POST FRAME BUILDING MATERIALS • CRANE SERVICE Everyone at Rigidply Rafters, i nc is fully committed to serving our customers and providing them with the finest products available. The excellence that we strive for is to show our appreciation for our customers continued loyalty to Rigidply Rafters. You deserve the bestl
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