Tree Damage From Crop Spraying

[pdqdl]

T go to the Police he may admit what chemical was used that day on the record. Worth a try.

It's a state licensing law that they keep on file exactly what was used and what the reported weather conditions were. The State Ag. agent will have no trouble getting answers, especially if it was a Coop or other contract spraying operation. With rented land and non-owner farmers, I would expect them to use contractual services for the big jobs that take tons of capital investment.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

I'm not sure how you got that answer from them. You must have reached the janitor in the soil lab.
They offer many hundreds of tests, including gas chromatograph for a multitude of herbicides and insecticides. Is OK, though.
Columbia is a bit cheaper for the roundup test than Midwest Labs, and they Midwest has not yet responded to me regarding the Dicamba test. The broad spectrum screening for herbicides sounds like a better deal as well, although Midwest does most of their chromatograph tests for $150.00. But that's for a single herbicide!

Not what I was told... pretty sure it wasn't a janitor.
She specifically told me they only test for amendments needed in the soil, not for herbicides already in the soil... that's why she gave the the number to Columbia.

 

[ATpro]

No, no, no! That's a bad idea. Without even going into the issues of putting metal on the ground, putting rusty metal above a plant isn't likely to help iron availability in the soil. Most machine shop metal filings come with cutting oil residues, and this is a tree hugger you are advising.

Been using the metal filing for 40 years and dad before that without any problem. People we told about how to use the metal filing all had very good results. Put down in the fall and give them time to rust and the ground will take them up and the next year get a bumper crop.

We used this on our pecan trees when they would quit bearing pecans, it would jump start them every time. Dad ran a machine shop so getting clean metal filing was no problem. The filings from a brake drum lathe are clean of any oil anyway, and the dogs around the house never had any problems. The filing are so small that they go right to the ground and the first rain they are gone in a few days. You just scatter them around and not heavy. Old Folks use to bury iron under their pecan trees for 100's of years to get this affect. Yes you can use iron sulfate to get the same affect but we could get the filing for nothing and the iron release to the soil was timed released.

 

[pdqdl]

I know. She just called me back. We discussed their tests, what was offered, etc.

I'm a bit better informed on that stuff; she tried telling me kind of the same song and dance, but then I recited a number of herbicide tests that are listed in their catalog, along with prices. Bottom line: the phone answering lady is real nice, but she's not a chemist and doesn't really understand what they do test for. It also seems that their existing GC tests are geared towards much older, standardized tests, and that they don't pursue a lot of that kind of testing.

So... Good luck with Columbia Labs. If you need a good reliable soil test for those iron chlorosis treatments, now you know a good source for that, too.

 

[Raintree]

Remember the test cost is per sample.

 

[ATpro]

I'm a bit better informed on that stuff; she tried telling me kind of the same song and dance, but then I recited a number of herbicide tests that are listed in their catalog, along with prices.

Gee TN must have a piss poor state AG department. Here one call to the County AG extension office and someone would be out to investigate, document, take samples of soil and plants and send them to the state lab where they will test to document. There would be no need for you to contact the farmer because the county agent would do that and find out what he used and possible a citation for the over spray. After that you can call someone in and document the damage and seek restitution for damages including cost for damage estimate.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Remember the test cost is per sample.

Yes, and I asked her (not the "phone-answering-lady") about putting the samples in separate bags. She said No, I could put all the samples together, if I separated them, they would each count for a separate test/charge.
I thought that was odd, to put everything together.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Gee TN must have a piss poor state AG department. Here one call to the County AG extension office and someone would be out to investigate, document, take samples of soil and plants and send them to the state lab where they will test to document. There would be no need for you to contact the farmer because the county agent would do that and find out what he used and possible a citation for the over spray. After that you can call someone in and document the damage and seek restitution for damages including cost for damage estimate.

First mention of the county ag extension.
Good idea. I'll call them right now.

 

[ATpro]

Your county ag extension is over all this and they are connect at the hip with FDA and EPA, often a federal agent works out of the same office because of federal farming programs.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Your county ag extension is over all this and they are connect at the hip with FDA and EPA, often a federal agent works out of the same office because of federal farming programs.

Very nice man I talked to.
He said they can't test for herbicide, don't have the equipment, that the inspector will do all that... and administer fines if need be.
He suggested I use Triple13 fertilizer on them and water them to help them along... which I am more than willing to do - but I feel that is an expense the farmer should pay for.
He didn't seem very concerned and said they'd likely grow out of it. I said I hope so
When I asked him what can be done so this never happens again, he said the inspector should take care of that.

I tell you what, if I EVER again see him doing that again, I'll do this if I have to. You know me. No joke. I'll do it.


Years ago I stopped someone hired by the same relative to cut down a HUGE oak on the property line. She wasn't very happy with me, but the tree still stands. Two others in similar size had already been cut.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Hmmm......there seems to be enough damage to go around.....Maybe its time you started to collect and preserve some samples yourself for future use. Get some soil from various places where the plants have been affected, some leaves from the plants, etc. Store them in UV blocking containers and keep them stored in a dark dry place. Make sure you record exactly where the samples came from and when you collected them.
Also, aside from testing from toxins, find out if the labs test for other things such as surfactants or drift control agents. If the toxins have degraded past detection thresholds, maybe the other stuff in the mix might still be there. Thats just as relevant....

Got my samples.
Still waiting to see what the inspector says.
I may send them off to be tested if I'm not satisfied with the inspectors results.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Should I keep these in the fridge?

 

[ATpro]

I wonder about the damage inflicted from spurs - on the other hand.

Very nice man I talked to.
He said they can't test for herbicide, don't have the equipment, that the inspector will do all that... and administer fines if need be.

Gee, what a difference in the way state AG extensions work. I know how they work here cause been on the other side of this before, If we used a restricted chemical had to give the gps coordinates and land description, acres plan to spray. They would check your applicator certificate, then topo and aerial photos and give you the ok along with instructions for application.

 

[farmer steve]

Gee, what a difference in the way state AG extensions work. I know how they work here cause been on the other side of this before, If we used a restricted chemical had to give the gps coordinates and land description, acres plan to spray. They would check your applicator certificate, then topo and aerial photos and give you the ok along with instructions for application.

Is that with a commercial license or private applicator? We are not that restricted here with a private license.

 

[farmer steve]

Should I keep these in the fridge?

I wouldn't. Someplace cool and dark to prevent degradation

 

[ATpro]

Sprayed a place that been damage by bugs, clearcut and replanted. Put a release agent on it one year after replanting. Fellow claimed we damaged and killed his pine trees with the spray. His problem was his pines was eat up with the southern pine beetle. I told him this but there was no talking to this goof ball, he wanted money. Well a few days later the county extension agent called me to setup a meeting to view the damage. When he saw it he shook his head turned to the cat and told him this was southern pine beetle damage and the best thing he could do was clearcut and replant like his neighbor did, for one thing a release agent doesn't kill pines.

 

[ATpro]

Is that with a commercial license or private applicator? We are not that restricted here with a private license.

Requires testing for both and study time and a score of 70% or higher on test for private applicator. commercial license requires 30 point system to renew.

 

[farmer steve]

Requires testing for both and study time and a score of 70% or higher on test for private applicator. commercial license requires 30 point system to renew.

We are not required to report/ call anyone when/what restricted use spray we use, just keep records as to what,when,where. That's with a private license. I don't think commercial license is that restrictive either just more testing requirements. I get a quarterly? report from the dept of ag that lists incidents, fines etc. Most are for commercial applicators but some are drift issues and buying restricted use pesticides without a license. Hope that makes sense. Beer:30 here.

 

[ATpro]

Just to tell you how crappy people can be, was clear cutting some land with a pond on it and let some brush fall in the stream above the pond but on the land we were cutting. Neighbor called in on us before we had a chance to remove the brush, he had to trespass to see the brush. The real reason he was pissed was now the fellow that owned the pond could see the prick that called slipping into his pond and fishing without permission.

 

[les-or-more]

I didn't read all the posts so it may have been covered but here a call to the DEC would have quickly gotten answers to what was sprayed when it was sprayed and what the application rate was.