Year-Round IPM Program Pages
When planning for possible pesticide applications in an IPM program, consult the Pest Management Guidelines, and review and complete this checklist to consider practices that minimize environmental and efficacy problems.
Choose a pesticide from the UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines for the target pest, considering:
- Impact on natural enemies and honey bees
- Potential for water quality problems using the UC IPM WaterTox database
- Impact on aquatic invertebrates (See Pesticide Choice—)
- Chemical mode of action if pesticide resistance is an issue (See Herbicide Resistance—)
- Endangered species that may be near your site. Find out using the Department of Pesticide Regulation's PRESCRIBE program.
Before an application:
- Ensure that spray equipment is properly calibrated to deliver the desired pesticide amount for optimal coverage.
- Use appropriate spray nozzles and pressure to minimize off-site movement of pesticides.
- Avoid spraying during these conditions to avoid off-site movement of pesticides.
- Wind speed over 10 and under 3 mph
- Temperature inversions
- Just prior to rain or irrigation (unless it is an appropriate amount, such as when incorporating a soil-applied pesticide)
- At tractor speeds over 2 mph
- Identify and take special care to protect sensitive areas (for example, waterways or riparian areas) surrounding your application site.
- Review and follow labeling for pesticide handling, personal protection equipment (PPE) requirements, storage, and disposal guidelines.
- Check and follow restricted entry intervals (REI) and preharvest intervals (PHI).
After an application:
- Record application date, product used, rate, and location of application.
- Follow up to confirm that treatment was effective.
Consider water management practices that reduce pesticide movement off-site.
- Consult relevant publications.
- Reducing Runoff from Irrigated Lands: Orchard Floor Management Practices to Reduce Erosion and Protect Water Quality
- Reducing Runoff from Irrigated Lands: Causes and Management of Runoff from Surface Irrigation in Orchards
- Protecting Surface Water from Sediment-Associated Pesticides in Furrow-Irrigated Crops
- Consult the Department of Pesticide Regulation Groundwater Protection Program (GWPA) Web site for pesticide information and mitigation measures.
- Install an irrigation recirculation or storage and reuse system. Redesign inlets into tailwater ditches to reduce erosion.
- Use drip rather than sprinkler or flood irrigation.
- Limit irrigation to amount required using soil moisture monitoring and evapotranspiration (ET). (See Understanding Your Orchard's Water Requirements—)
- Consider using cover crops.
- Consider vegetative filter strips or ditches.
- Use polyacrylamide (PAM) tablets in furrows to prevent off-site movement of sediments.
Consider practices that reduce air quality problems.
- When possible, reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by decreasing the amount of pesticide applied, choosing low-emission management methods, and avoiding fumigants and emulsifiable concentrates (EC) formulations.
- Use the Department of Pesticide Regulation calculators to determine VOC emission rates from fumigant and nonfumigant pesticides.