Agricultural News
ODAFF Urges Caution When Spraying to Avoid Drift Risk
Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:27:44 CDT
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry (ODAFF) is urging all landowners to be cautious when spraying herbicides. Unintentional damage to neighbors' crops can result from spray drifting from your property. It is critical to know what your neighbor has planted. Cotton, grapes and canola are among the crops that are very sensitive to herbicides, especially those products containing 2,4-D.
Planning before you spray will give more effective treatment to your land and decrease the possibility of causing damage to a neighbor's field. Check the nearest Mesonet weather station information at http://agweather.mesonet.org. Also check the Mesonet Drift Risk Advisor by going to the Mesonet home page then selecting "Crop" and choosing "Drift Risk Advisor" under any crop listed in the left menu.
Consider wind speed and direction, temperature, humidity and atmospheric inversion conditions. Avoid application during hot or humid parts of the day. Use low-drift nozzles and consider newer technology products that have lower drift capabilities.
ODAFF's Pesticide Sensitive Location Viewer is a handy online tool showing the location of vineyards and other sensitive crops. Click Click here to find out what is growing near you. Applicators who apply herbicide products containing auxin or hormone-type ingredients, such as 2,4-D, dicamba, picloram, triclopyr, or clorpyralid, to pastures or crop lands must be extra careful because of the higher risk they present to sensitive crops.
When these chemicals drift off the target field to nearby sensitive crops, damage can often result. Anyone making an herbicide application is responsible for keeping it on the target field or pasture and may be subject to penalties if spray drift occurs. There are counties in Oklahoma where special herbicide application regulations exist. These regulations require that all applicators, including commercial and private applicators and farmers, notify ODAFF of the intent to spray and file a report of what was sprayed seven days after application. These forms may be found by clicking here.
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