Tree Damage From Crop Spraying

[TNTreeHugger]

My property has neighboring row-crop farmland on the north and south.
Several weeks ago, when I was out mowing, someone was spraying something in the fields. When I saw them I stopped and they continued to spray all day, into the evening, and all the next day. It was warm outside and windy as heck.
I didn't smell anything, but I went inside and closed all the windows anyway.

A few weeks later I noticed the leaves on some of my trees shriveling up.
I talked to someone who knows who farms that land and he told me there have been several law suits about that kind of tree damage.

I wanted to get your opinion on the current health of and potential long term damage of the trees before I call someone like the EPA, the Forestry dept., an arborist, or the person in charge of the spraying.
I don't want to cause a problem if there might not be one.
I've counted five 5'-6' white oak, three 12'-15' poplar and a new winter honeysuckle planted a week or so before the spraying
I bought all of these from the forestry service as small 8"-12" liners and planted them myself. These are the nicest ones and about all I have left.

Anyone know what the sop on spraying row crops is?
I know I rarely spray herbicide, or pesticide, but I Never spray it if there's even the slightest hint of a breeze.

Can this kind of damage cause permanent damage to the trees?

 

[TNTreeHugger]

I'm finding articles and other info on this...
https://agfax.com/2018/07/23/dicamba-drift-injury-can-property-owners-recover-dtn/

 

[lone wolf]

My property has neighboring row-crop farmland on the north and south.
Several weeks ago, when I was out mowing, someone was spraying something in the fields. When I saw them I stopped and they continued to spray all day, into the evening, and all the next day. It was warm outside and windy as heck.
I didn't smell anything, but I went inside and closed all the windows anyway.

A few weeks later I noticed the leaves on some of my trees shriveling up.
I talked to someone who knows who farms that land and he told me there have been several law suits about that kind of tree damage.

I wanted to get your opinion on the current health of and potential long term damage of the trees before I call someone like the EPA, the Forestry dept., an arborist, or the person in charge of the spraying.
I don't want to cause a problem if there might not be one.
I've counted five 5'-6' white oak, three 12'-15' poplar and a new winter honeysuckle planted a week or so before the spraying
I bought all of these from the forestry service as small 8"-12" liners and planted them myself. These are the nicest ones and about all I have left.

Anyone know what the sop on spraying row crops is?
I know I rarely spray herbicide, or pesticide, but I Never spray it if there's even the slightest hint of a breeze.

Can this kind of damage cause permanent damage to the trees?View attachment 987876View attachment 987878View attachment 987879View attachment 987880View attachment 987881View attachment 987882

You should have stopped them from spraying then! I think you have a good legal case ,they have no defense. But will it be worth your trouble ? Talk to an attorney over the phone and get ideas.

 

[Karrl]

You can get the plants tested for whatever they were spraying. Contact your local ag extension office and they can help you out.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

You can get the plants tested for whatever they were spraying. Contact your local ag extension office and they can help you out.

TY
I just got off the phone with the TN dept of Ag.
They are having an inspector call to make an appointment to come out and take samples.

I don't want to sue my neighbor/farmer but if the trees are severely damaged I'd like to have them replaced.
I put a lot of TLC into shaping and caring for these trees.
At the least, the farmer needs to be instructed by the dept of ag on how to correctly spray the field so it doesn't happen again.

Had I known what they were spraying and that it would cause this kind of damage to my trees, I certainly would have put a stop to it that day. I assumed they knew what they were doing.
Live and learn - sometimes the hard way.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

I'm glad it didn't kill my fish or I'd really be pissed.

...and what about the wildlife in the yard?
I know a lot of those chemicals MSDS say to not dispose of in water sources and that they are harmful to fish, reptiles, and other aquatic animals.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

 

[TNTreeHugger]

https://agfax.com/2019/07/26/herbicide-drift-repetitive-damage-plants-not-growing-out-of-it-dtn/

 

[TNTreeHugger]

https://ipm-drift.cfaes.ohio-state....ng-drift-damage/document-observations-quickly

 

[Bill G]

You should have stopped them from spraying then! I think you have a good legal case ,they have no defense. But will it be worth your trouble ? Talk to an attorney over the phone and get ideas.

Really, jump ahead without details? Although it is POSSIBLE they were spraying dicamba but since it is early May and a late mild spring I would wonder if it was. There has been zero ZERO mention of the field condition so there is no way anyone can make a judgement on what was sprayed, what spray was used, what type of application, anything. IF it was dicamba it is a tough choice to use based on the current issues with the associated vapor drift. There are some pretty specific rules regarding its application.

Now I want to be clear there is no excuse for poor application of any pesticide that results in damage to any non-target but going 0 to 100 without details will just make things worse

 

[blades]

heck around my place they have been using choppers and planes. I had blue chunks all over my drive last year that they were dropping on the cornfields. couple years ago it was a chopper spraying something. weed control is likely injected at planting but not always.

 

[Bill G]

heck around my place they have been using choppers and planes. I had blue chunks all over my drive last year that they were dropping on the cornfields. couple years ago it was a chopper spraying something. weed control is likely injected at planting but not always.

It is highly unlikely that in that case they were spraying a herbicide with a plane or chopper. It was probably an insecticide. Spraying herbicides fro planes or choppers is extremely stupid in most all cases because of the lack of precision. An insecticide is different as it does not need to be selective in most cases. Think of this a corn and bean field side by side if you are spraying the corn for broadleaf weeds you sure do not want to touch the beans. If you are spraying for spider mites in the beans who cares if you also kill them in the corn. The objective is to kill the big no matter it's location

 

[Raintree]

Not wanting to rain down on your herbicide parade or get into a rabbit hole of a thread.
All your pictures could be explained with insect or frost issues. Only one that may be a question is the honeysuckle and that one could be lack of water.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

It is highly unlikely that in that case they were spraying a herbicide with a plane or chopper. It was probably an insecticide. Spraying herbicides fro planes or choppers is extremely stupid in most all cases because of the lack of precision. An insecticide is different as it does not need to be selective in most cases. Think of this a corn and bean field side by side if you are spraying the corn for broadleaf weeds you sure do not want to touch the beans. If you are spraying for spider mites in the beans who cares if you also kill them in the corn. The objective is to kill the big no matter it's location

You raise some good points.
They were using a big tractor with tanks and sprayer... I think the kind that has arms that extend side to side from the tractor. I've seen them use that before but couldn't say for sure that's what kind it was this time.
They alternate between soy and corn every year. Last year it was corn this year it's soy. No till and I can see the cut in the soil from the planter and the beans are already up about 4".
I went out and took more photos of the fields. they border my property on one side and a driveway between on the other. 312 acres... hundreds more connecting those properties.
I'll get the photos up in a minute

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Not wanting to rain down on your herbicide parade or get into a rabbit hole of a thread.
All your pictures could be explained with insect or frost issues. Only one that may be a question is the honeysuckle and that one could be lack of water.

No need to be snarky.
Idk what it is which is why I'm having an inspector look at it.
Since you mention it, what kind of insect would do damage only to those specific trees?

We did have a couple late frost, but wouldn't that have bit everything? It looks to me like only the trees that were leafing out that day got cooked - the white oak and poplar. The maples are fine because they had already leafed out and the nut trees are fine because they leafed out later.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

 

[pdqdl]

It looks like herbicide damage or heat stress to me. I did observe that one of the trees is showing significant brown/dead parts, while the other plants just have leaves curling up. I'd suggest that dead tree was a goner prior to the herbicide spray.

Couple of points:

• The Dept. of Agriculture issues the pesticide licenses for the farmer, and supervises the use of herbicides. You got the right people on it.
• You wouldn't have been able to stop the farmer anyway, although there is a lot to be said for making friendly contact. They are entitled to do what they want on their property, and only an agent from the Dept of Agriculture would have been able to interfere. Even the County Sheriff would have been operating outside his authority to stop the farmer.
• There is a lot to be said for documenting the weather conditions when the spraying was done. You need to be able to prove the wind direction, velocity, and the temperature (high) for that day. The farmer is required by his license to do the same. He'll be in big trouble if found to have broken the rules.
• Take a look at the broadleaf plants in your yard, too. If they are healthy and thriving, it is very unlikely that the herbicide application would affect your trees and not the broadleaf weeds beneath them.
• Different plants have different susceptibilities to any herbicide. You would expect to see variations in the effects upon the different species, but somewhat similar results within each plant type.
• It is acutely unlikely to be related to insects, unless you have observed a plague of locusts.
• It is entirely possible that the herbicide application was done in full compliance with the regulations, but you can still have drift and collateral damage. Following the rules do not absolve the farmer of any liability, either, although it would affect your probability of winning a judgement, should it come to that.
• If you have had the same heat wave this week that we had a bit north and west of Tennessee, I'd make sure that I was watering those plants. It is almost legend that people go out and observe that their plants are doing poorly, then they blame the nearest person first while seeking a remedy. Most often, plants die off from planting problems and poor maintenance. Whether the observed damage was caused by heat or herbicides, water those trees!

 

[TNTreeHugger]

It looks like herbicide damage or heat stress to me. I did observe that one of the trees is showing significant brown/dead parts, while the other plants just have leaves curling up. I'd suggest that dead tree was a goner prior to the herbicide spray.

We've had an extremely wet spring, and windy too.
Specifically, which "dead tree" are you referring to?
None of these trees were dead prior to the spraying, in fact I had noticed how beautiful the pink new oak leaves were that were coming on.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

This is what the oaks looked like before spraying (stock photo)

 

[stihl sawing]

It is highly unlikely that in that case they were spraying a herbicide with a plane or chopper. It was probably an insecticide. Spraying herbicides fro planes or choppers is extremely stupid in most all cases because of the lack of precision. An insecticide is different as it does not need to be selective in most cases. Think of this a corn and bean field side by side if you are spraying the corn for broadleaf weeds you sure do not want to touch the beans. If you are spraying for spider mites in the beans who cares if you also kill them in the corn. The objective is to kill the big no matter it's location

The woods where i hunt is owned by red mountain timber and they spray some kind of broadleaf killer. it kills everything but a pine tree. and they do it whether you are there or not. they use choppers. they use planes here to spray fields all the time. i don't know it it's insecticide or weed killer though. probably both.