In addition to pesticide application, respondents were asked if they performed other turfgrass maintenance activities. Of the respondents, 154 (92.2%) reported one to several other maintenance activities, including core aeration (83.8%), mowing (71.3%), lawn renovation (65.3%), lawn installation (50.9%), dethatching (34.1%), and irrigation (22.2%). Nine respondents (5.4%) did not perform any other maintenance activities, and four respondents (2.4%) did not answer the question.
Most of the respondents visit turfgrass sites throughout the season to perform tasks other than the pesticide application, creating opportunities to evaluate (scout) turfgrass several times throughout the season as part of an integrated pest management program.
The majority of respondents (65.9%) stated they always used pesticides at the labeled rate; a small portion (4.2%) always applied pesticides at less than the label rate; 25.2% sometimes applied pesticides at less than the label rate; and 4.8% admitted to sometimes applying pesticides at more than the labeled rate. No respondents reported to have always applied pesticides at more than the labeled rate.
Pesticide drift on windy days is a major concern throughout the pesticide application industry. Accordingly, the great majority of the applicators (97%) reported that they ceased pesticide application at some threshold of wind velocity between 1 and 25 mph, while 3% stated they did not have to stop because they only used dry granular materials or only sprayed when the wind was not blowing.
Approximately 61% of the applicators set their threshold wind velocity to stop spraying at 10 mph or less, with 20% at 5 mph, 41.2% at 10 mph, and 24.2% at 15 mph.
Respondents reported that television, radio, and local weather forecasts from the internet were the main sources of their wind velocity data. Most also indicated they did not measure wind velocity at the site of application, but used individual judgment based on personal experience, observed movement on trees and shrubs, and observed changes in spray patterns including development of mists and direct observation of drift. Twelve respondents (7.2%) did measure wind speed at the site of application using a hand-held anemometer.
The most common type of pesticide application equipment used by 91% of respondents was a spreader for dry or granular materials, with no distinction made between drop and cyclone spreaders. Other types of equipment were less frequently used, including truck or trailer sprayers (66.9%), hand pump sprayers (62.1%), back-pack sprayers (60.9%), and other types of application equipment (11.8%).
Truck or trailer tank sprayers and dry spreaders were calibrated with the greatest frequency, with the majority of the truck/trailer tank sprayers (55.8%) and dry spreaders (64.9%) calibrated at least four times a year. All of the truck/trailer tank sprayers and 93.4% of the dry spreaders were calibrated at least one time per year. The least frequently calibrated pieces of pesticide application equipment were hand-pump sprayers with 44.8% calibrated one to three times per year and 23.8% not calibrated at all. Backpack sprayers were also calibrated infrequently, with 59.2% being calibrated one to three times per year and 12.6% not calibrated at all.
Calibration is necessary to assure proper application rates, limit exposure to pesticides, reduce the chances of perceived pesticide failure, and reduce potential environmental risk and/or damage. Therefore, pesticide education programs need to continue to emphasize the importance of equipment calibration and to offer training on how to calibrate equipment properly.
The respondents to the survey were asked to rate the value of 12 different sources of information about pesticide applications (see Appendix, Survey Question No. 11). The response rate to each source of information ranged from 74.3% to 96.1% (Figure 1). Information sources were rated on a scale of 1 ‹ Not Valuable to 5 ‹ Extremely Valuable.
The top-rated source of pesticide application information was the pesticide label (Figure 2). Four other sources were also rated fairly high, including individual consultation with the pesticide/fertilizer dealer, Extension Service pesticide training sessions, Extension bulletins and fact sheets, and professional conferences (Figure 2). The lowest rated sources of pesticide application information were trade magazines, commercial newsletters, and the World Wide Web/Internet.
Apparently, applicators have not yet developed a reliance on the Internet for information, or the content needed to satisfy the applicators’ needs is not yet available or is to hard to find. Only 20 respondents (11.2%) cited their own source of information about pesticide applications, which included: personal experience (6), other applicators (6), schooling (1), training by company (1), ODA (Ohio Department of Agriculture) (1), professional associations (1), customer (1), any other form of information (1), and sources that fit into other categories cited in the question (2).
In summary, some 65% of the respondents applied pesticides and provided data, 27% of the respondents stated they did not apply pesticides, and 8% were either duplicate surveys or did not provide data. Cumulatively, the respondents managed 30,762 acres of turfgrass, mostly residential and commercial. Herbicides were the most frequently applied pesticides (88% of total lbs of A.I.), followed by insecticides (8%), and fungicides (4%).
The largest quantities of herbicide, insecticide, and fungicide A.I.’s applied were 2,4-D, imidacloprid, and mancozeb, respectively. In addition to applying pesticides and/or pesticide/fertilizer combinations, 92.2% of the respondents performed one to several other maintenance activities, such as mowing and aeration.
The majority of the respondents (65.9%) stated that they always used pesticides at the labeled rate, a response that was validated in the evaluation of the survey data. Approximately 85% of the respondents claimed to have ceased spraying when wind velocity reached about 10 mph.
The most common type of application equipment used was a spreader for dry or granular materials. Of the different types of pesticide application equipment used, truck or trailer tank sprayers and dry spreaders were calibrated most frequently. The top-rated source of information about pesticide application was the pesticide label. Fairly low in the ratings were the World Wide Web/Internet, trade magazines, and commercial newsletters.