Sean Nelson, a specialist with the Sutter County Agricultural Department, had an unpopular message for growers at the Walnut Trade Show in Yuba City: Growers face new limits on pesticide spraying this year.
The rules aren’t Sutter County’s: They’re the new statewide regulations on chlorpyrifos and on all pesticides near schools and sensitive areas.
Here’s the lowdown on what the new rules require.
Chlorpyrifos
"You're trying to reduce the drift as much as possible,” Nelson said. “They really want you to keep the spray in the canopy."
That means all applications of chlorpyrifos must take place with a minimum wind speed of 3 miles per hour and not more than 10 miles per hour, at a height of four feet above the ground.
For the two outermost rows, airblast applications must be sprayed from the outside of the orchard facing in, with outward-facing nozzles shut off. When treating smaller trees and vines, top nozzles should be shut off to minimize spray movement above the level of the canopy.
Other changes: for chemigation applications, the permitted party or a representative with knowledge of the irrigation system should be present at the time of the application. For granular applications, granules that are spilled during loading and can be seen on soil surfaces in turning areas must be cleaned up.
Another new thing, Nelson said, is a requirement for a setback area from sensitive sites including waterways, drainage ditches that flow into waterways, and houses or private yards.“If there's a house next to your orchard, and you're spraying aerially, you have to move 250 feet back from that yard into your orchard,” Nelson said. “If you're spraying more than a pound, then you have to move back 500 feet.”
For ground application, most growers in Sutter County use a half pound-rate, and a setback of 150 feet from sensitive sites is the rule, said Jan Kendel, an agricultural biologist with the county.
The last point for growers: for a sensitive area like a yard, growers need to either get a vacating agreement with the people that live there, or to put a posting on a fence post notifying anyone around of the date of the spraying.
Then during the spraying, an employee should watch the sensitive site to make sure no one is there for the spraying, and for an hour after the operation.
Spraying Near Sensitive Areas
For other pesticides, a new big rule restricts pesticide use near schools, Nelson said. On top of that, it requires notification of spraying for nearby schools. As a general rule, any product with an EPA number is required to be reported, and those without an EPA number are not.“What it means is no aerial applications, air blast sprayers, fumigations, or using powder or dust, near a school from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” Nelson said. “This only is when the kids are in school.”
Not only should spraying not take place within a quarter mile of a school when children are present--there can't be children at that school site at any time for 36 hours following the spraying. According to Nelson, that means that during the school year application is limited to Saturday mornings.
The same protection applies to daycares licensed by the state of California--if a grower isn’t sure, they can check with county authorities on whether a daycare is licensed.
If growers use a ground rig sprayer or spray by hand, there must be a 25 foot buffer between the spraying and the school property.
The notification requirement means that growers must send annual notifications to the principal of K-12 schools, or to a daycare’s administrator. These notifications are due on April 30.
The notifications should include all of the pesticides the grower plans to use from July 1 through June 30 of the next year. When multiple products have the same active ingredient, only one needs to be named, Nelson said.
That filing also should include a map of the area that will be sprayed and the school grounds, with each labeled and outlined.
The notification is turned into schools and county agricultural commissioner's office once a year, and should include the website address for the National Pesticide Information Center, so schools and daycares can seek more information: http://npic.orst.edu.
If growers change plans mid-year, they should notify the school at least 48 hours before spraying with the new product, and can do so using the website www.calagpermits.org.
For More Information
- Sutter County growers can get more information at the county’s Pesticide Use website.
- Growers throughout California can consult their county’s Agricultural Commissioner’s office, as counties are responsible for enforcement. A listing of those offices’ contacts can be found here.