Pesticides and sustainability

December 7, 2012

Pesticides and sustainability. An oxymoron, you say? A contradiction in terms?

Most definitely not. There are clear and measurable steps that turf managers can take to improve the sustainability of their facility by using the tools listed below to select and apply pesticides that are effective, yet also as low in environmental and human toxicity as possible.

Reduce pounds on the ground:

• Use the diagnostic laboratories in this listing if necessary to confirm the identification of the pests or problems causing turf damage
• Use products with the lowest labeled rates of active ingredient. To calculate active ingredient rates using the pesticide label, use this active ingredient calculator spreadsheet.

Use lower toxicity products:

• Use the U.S. EPA’S system for categorizing pesticide toxicity to select the least toxic products (Categories III and IV) and move away from use of the more toxic products (Categories I and II)
• Use some ingenuity to identify the least toxic products (Category IV), despite the EPA’s non transparent system, as described here.
• As an alternative to the EPA system of four categories, Cornell University has proposed the concept of Environmental Impact Quotients (EIQs) to quantify the toxicity of pesticides. It’s a much more comprehensive system that uses equations to assign an EIQ value (the higher, the more toxic) to each pesticide.
• Use the Pesticide Toxicity Class Spreadsheet (to track either pounds or kilograms of active ingredient) to track both the amount and the toxicity of pesticides used over the year. This is a great way to document your progress towards sustainability, by keeping good records of your efforts to move away from Category I and II products and towards Categories III and IV. Just follow these steps:

1. Fill out columns 1 through 4 on the Pesticide Toxicity Class Spreadsheet to track either pounds or kilograms of active ingredient applied.
2. To complete column 2, look on the pesticide label for the Signal Word (DANGER, WARNING, CAUTION, as described here.
3. To complete column 4, use the nifty active ingredient calculator.
4. Once all columns are completed, the spreadsheet will calculate how man pounds (or kilos) of Category I, II, III or IV pesticides you have applied throughout the year.
5. Each time you add a new product to the list, click “save as” on your Excel file menu so that you can continually track product use throughout the year. By comparing one year to the next, you have a tangible way to document your progress.

Other useful tools for implementing and measuring progress towards sustainability:

• Reduce fertilizer inputs by participating in the Global Soil Survey for Sustainable Turf and by using the new Minimum Levels for Sustainable Nutrition soil guidelines.
• Listen to our GCI podcast, “Sustainability: but what does it mean?”
• Use the GCSAA–sponsored IPM Planning Guide to develop your own site specific IPM plan.
• A wide range of soil, water and pest guidelines