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Mike Reed, SynaTek Solutions, Inc.

 

Session: Building a Turf and Ornamental Care Program using the “Three E’s” - Efficacy, Environmental Impact & Economics

DESCRIPTION:  Members of the Green Industry have a responsibility to be Good Stewards to the Environment. This seminar will focus on the tools you should be using when choosing a pesticide. University of Wisconsin Pesticide Efficacy Calculator: This calculator is intended to provide research-based product efficacy ratings for the professional turfgrass manager. Each Product or Active Ingredient receives a point rating for controlling specific fungus and weeds. For fungicides:

For fungicides:

  • 4 = Consistently excellent control under high disease pressure
  • 3 = Consistently excellent control, though some breakdown under high disease pressure
  • 2 = Fair to good control under most conditions, periodic breakdowns in disease control
  • 1 = Control is inconsistent between experiments but performs well in some instances
  • N = No efficacy
  • L = Limited published data on effectiveness
 

For herbicides:

  • 4-Excellent, greater than 90% prevention or control
  • 3-Good, 75-90% prevention or control
  • 2-Fair, 50-75% prevention or control
  • 1-Poor, less than 50% prevention or control

Demonstration of University of Wisconsin Pesticide Efficacy Calculator EIQ Calculator (Environmental Impact Quotient): The EIQ Calculator is used to estimate the environmental impact of pesticides. The closer to zero the lower the impact. The EIQ formula was created to provide pest managers data regarding the environmental and health impacts of their pesticide options so they can make better informed decisions regarding their pesticide selection. It combines known toxicological and environmental fate information about pesticides, including toxicity to humans, fish, birds and other non-target organisms; and pesticide characteristics such as likelihood to leach or runoff, soil persistence, and plant leaf persistence.

The calculation is based on:

  • Active Ingredient
  • Active Ingredient %
  • Use Rate
 

An Impact value from Zero to 1000 will be assigned based:

  • Environment
  • Applicator
  • Home Owner
  • Demonstration of EIQ Calculator
  • Economics: Using Efficacy Ratings, EIQ and Cost per 1,000 sqft to determine which product to use.