Reader comment: Luther College lawn spraying could have been handled differently

decorahnews.com reader Mike Rothwell of Burr Oak used to run a lawn maintenance business.  He e-mails the following comments about Luther College's lawn herbicide application:

"As a past, licensed, commercial applicator in the State of Iowa, I can tell you that when the temperature exceeds 85 degrees, broadleaf herbicides can AND DO DRIFT due to VOLATILIZATION.  It's basically the 'vapor' of the chemical that will affect non-target areas simply due to the temperature exceeding 85.  Even a slight breeze will cause this drift condition to cause harm in non-target areas--and potentially affect the air quality of those downwind as well.

Another problem I have with their application processes is that they use tractors with spray booms as that obviously covers large areas faster; the problem with spray booms is that the droplet size is so small, it is effectively a 'mist.'  And even under 85 degrees, the fine droplet particles can easily drift in a slight breeze as well.  10mph is considerably too windy, especially using a fine-spray boom application--and then toss in 90 degrees---you definitely will have issues.

I owned my own commercial lawn care business in the Des Moines area from 1990-1998 and offered broadleaf chemical applications to my customers, I used a similar setup that you see Chemlawn/Tru-Green use.  I had a 300 gallon Fimco spray tank and a 300' electric hose reel with a trigger-gun applicator.  The droplet size is HUGE compared to a boom spray rig and the applicator WALKS, pulling the hose, while sweeping the gun side-to-side in about a 10' swath pattern.  Yes, it takes more time than a spray boom, but in those 8 years of commercial spraying with my rig, I NEVER ONCE had a call back for re-treatment or ANY CLAIMS from non-target areas being affected by my applications.  That's another thing too...Applicators working for Chemlawn-type companies are told to spray as much as they can--even with a storm coming in.  That's a bad thing, because if it rains before the product has a chance to dry, it simply runs off and goes into the watershed, contaminating ground water and also failing to offer the results a customer expects--resulting in a call back for re-treatment--two applications to get the job done when one should have sufficed.  As I said...since I owned my company, I couldn't afford to be called back so if I saw bad weather coming in or knew the forecast was calling for thunderstorms, I would let my customers know I wouldn't be spraying that day and would come do the job when conditions permitted.  My customers appreciated my approach and completely understood.

As far as a solution goes, I would strongly recommend that if Luther wishes to have their broadleaf weeds sprayed, they must employ the services of a company who can provide the application with a SPRAY GUN and NO BOOMS WHATSOEVER.  I would also say that if the temperature is forecast to be anywhere even near 85, or thunderstorms, spraying would not be allowed.  And finally...Spraying would be limited to  early morning hours with no wind conditions.  And as far as 'efficiency' goes, hire a company (like our local chemlawn company) that has several trucks and have them all on site in various locations, all instructed with the preceding guidelines, the job could be done quickly and efficiently and the risk of any drift would be eliminated.

If my facts are questioned, the answers are all clearly spelled out in the CORE MANUAL for the Iowa State Applicator's License course, which that--along with a category exam (turf & ornamentals--aquacides, aerial applicator, etc) are required to be studied and tested before a license is granted for any chemical herbicide, pesticide or fungicide applications.  This manual is available from the Wallace Building in Des Moines or any ISU Extension office (and I believe there's still an office in Decorah).

Granted my information is based on my personal and professional experiences from 1990-1998---but the problems I'm seeing associated with repeated violations by the applicators on the Luther campus are the same problems that would be then and the same practices to prevent those problems are the same today.