[compost_tea] Re: Herbicide Over Spray Damage

From: Will Buck <willbuck76_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 04 May 2011 17:28:30 -0000

Hi Sally, I am a certified organic grape grower in Sonoma County CA. Last =
Spring I went into one of our blocks of vines and discovered that the vines=
, cover crops, and hedge rows were showing serious symptoms of what turns o=
ut to be herbicide over spray. I have never used herbicide so I did not ha=
ve any idea what the symptoms pointed to but I had someone from a local ag =
company come and look and he said, without missing a beat, "herbicide." M=
y neighbor uses herbicide to maintain the road that borders our property. =
 

I called my local County Ag Supervisor and they immediately sent one of the=
ir senior ag specialists who came the next day. They were amazing, they se=
nt samples to the lab, photographed the damage and are (one year later stil=
l not complete) writing and extensive report (this experience had made payi=
ng taxes much less painless). The county Ag department also sent two UC ex=
tension agents who also concurred. I have written letters from them that t=
he damage was most certainly herbicide.

I have lost yield and lots of sleep. I have learned tons about all differe=
nt types of herbicides and I have filed a claim against the neighbor but it=
 is not yet resolved. It was a good thing to be certified organic because =
it clearly proves that we were not a victim or our own herbicide use. I ha=
ve letters, documents, photos, etc etc, but the long of the short of it is =
that nothing is resolved, and the vines are still (year two) symptomatic. (=
we have been giving them lots of TLC and removed all flowers and green frui=
t to help the vines recover.) All the professionals said they would grow o=
ut of it quickly. They have not.

In the beginning all I really wanted was an apology and an agreement not to=
 spray our border. That has not been forthcoming. Revenge in the form of =
calling my local News paper sounds kind of good, but in the end I have just=
 let it go, put up signs and moved on. (high profile neighbor, we will see=
 how they respond to the report!)

Do report it to your local ag commissioner. They will hopefully help educa=
te your neighbor. Put up signs. Try to find out what class of herbicide it=
 was and likely most of the perennial plants will survive. Regarding law s=
uits, it is a very difficult thing to prove.

This might help:
According to IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY Off-target herbicide movement: All herbi=
cide applications are susceptible to off-target movement, but the Growth Re=
gulator herbicides (such as Milestone) pose a much greater risk of damaging=
 non-target plants than other products because they can cause significant i=
njury at fractions of typical application rates. Most other herbicides must=
 contact plants at concentrations close to the label rate to cause a signif=
icant response.) http://viticulture.hort.iastate.edu/info/pdf/herbicideinju=
ry.pdf

It sucks! good luck.

   

--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "Sally Norton" <sknorton_at_...> wrote:
>
> Last week I discovered a widespread plant "illness" in my 100% Organic ya=
rd-garden diagnosed by the Extension Horticulturist as pesticide over spray=
. I confirmed that the adjacent downwind property was treated last week wit=
h a liquid "Speed Zone" brand by Gordon's. The MSDS can be seen at this ad=
dress:
> http://www.pbigordon.com/pdfs/SpeedZone-MSDS.pdf.
> In addition to the plants low to the ground (tomatoes, lettuce, herbs, co=
llards, roses, etc, trees, vines, and tall bushes that are 5 -15 feet off t=
he ground show definite damage. You can almost envision the currents of air=
 carrying the 2,4,D and other compounds of the Speed Zone across my propert=
y. I was so hoping that my kiwi vine would finally bloom and fruit this ye=
ar which will be its 5th year in my yard. Will these chemicals impact the b=
looming and fruiting of a kiwi or the pomegranate bush which is showing a l=
ot of damage in all the growing tips? The dwarf weeping mulberry already s=
et its fruits, but the leaves look terrible.
> I take great pride in the health of my plants and the attractiveness of t=
he plantings, so I am having a very hard time with so much plant material l=
ooking stressed and damaged.
> Suggestions??
>




Received on Wed May 04 2011 - 16:30:43 EDT

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