Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » St. Paul, Minnesota » Soil and Water Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #267458
Title: Effectiveness of cultivation practices to minimize the off-site transport of pesticides in runoff from managed turf

Author
item Rice, Pamela
item HORGAN, BRIAN - University Of Minnesota
item Hamlin, Jennifer

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/8/2011
Publication Date: 12/11/2011
Citation: Rice, P.J., Horgan, B.P., Rittenhouse, J.L. 2011. Effectiveness of cultivation practices to minimize the off-site transport of pesticides in runoff from managed turf. In: Goh, K.S. et al., editors. Pesticide Mitigation Strategies for Surface Water Quality. ACS Symposium Series Volume 1075. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society. p. 95-113. DOI:10.1021/bk-2011-1075.ch007.

Interpretive Summary: Pesticides are biologically active compounds used to control harmful and nuisance pests that may carry infectious diseases and devastate food, fiber and horticultural crops as well as native habitats. The detection of pesticides in areas where they have not been applied, and reported effects of pesticides to non-target organisms at environmentally relevant levels has raised the need to provide methodologies to control their off-site transport. Pesticides associated with the turfgrass industry have been detected in stormwater runoff and surface waters of urban watersheds. We designed experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of management practices to mitigate the off-site transport of pesticides in runoff from turf managed as a golf course fairway. Overall hollow tine core cultivation (HTCC) showed a reduction in the percentage of precipitation resulting as runoff relative to the no core cultivation (NCC), solid tine core cultivation (STCC) and verticutting (VC). Likewise the percentage of applied herbicides measure in the runoff were less from turf managed with HTCC. These trends were statistically significant for dicamba, MCPP, and 2,4-D when comparing HTCC versus STCC at 2d following core cultivation, for 2,4-D when comparing and HTCC with STCC at 63d following core cultivation, and for 2,4-D when comparing HTCC with VC. Results of this research provide quantitative information that will allow for informed decisions on management practices for turf that can maximize pesticide retention at the site of application; improving pest control while minimizing environmental contamination and adverse effects associated with the off-site transport of pesticides to surface waters.

Technical Abstract: Pesticides associated with the turfgrass industry have been detected in stormwater runoff and surface waters of urban watersheds. The detection of pesticides at locations where they have not been applied along with reported effects of pesticides to non-target organisms at environmentally relevant levels has raised the need to provide methodologies to control their off-site transport. We designed experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of cultivation practices to mitigate the off-site transport of herbicides in runoff from turf managed as a golf course fairway. Overall hollow tine core cultivation (HTCC) showed a reduction in the percentage of precipitation resulting as runoff relative to the no core cultivation (NCC), solid tine core cultivation (STCC) and verticutting (VC). Likewise the percentage of applied herbicides measure in the runoff were less from turf managed with HTCC. These trends were statistically significant for dicamba, MCPP, and 2,4-D when comparing HTCC versus STCC at 2d following core cultivation, for 2,4-D when comparing and HTCC with STCC at 63d following core cultivation, and for 2,4-D when comparing HTCC with VC. Results of this research provide quantitative information that will allow for informed decisions on management practices for turf that can maximize pesticide retention at the site of application; improving pest control while minimizing environmental contamination and adverse effects associated with the off-site transport of pesticides to surface waters.