Prohibiting pesticides on turf: What we have learned from New York State. J. Kao-Kniffin; Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

 

New York State (NYS) has been experiencing a change in the regulatory landscape in the past 12 years that places far more restrictions on weed management of turf and grounds. The first wave of restrictions occurred in the late 1980s requiring the notification of pesticide applications on commercial turf. Amendments to the law followed soon after, culminating in the 2000 Neighbor Notification Law that expanded written warnings of pesticide use on residential and commercial turf. More recently, the 2010 Child Safe Playing Fields Law limits pesticide use on school grounds and daycare centers to products containing active and inert ingredients that are deemed minimal risk under FIFRA 25(b) and 4a. For weed management, we identified only 10 post-emergent herbicides adhering to the strict requirements of the new law. Examples of active ingredients include citric acid, clove oil, eugenol, lemongrass oil, and 2-phenethyl propionate. All of the allowable herbicides are non-selective and show considerable variation in their effectiveness in vegetation control. As an alternative to chemical control, we found that thermal weeding with a propane torch showed greater total vegetation control compared to the organic herbicides. Although the 2010 law covers only school grounds and daycare centers in NYS, we expect an increase in the demand for organic land care management beyond the intent of the law. Initial survey results show that 27% of respondents working in turf management primarily in NYS have been requested by clients to provide organic land care services, with an additional 25% of respondents anticipating requests of organic services in the future. Ongoing survey work will provide greater understanding of changing land care management in NYS and implications for regional weed management in the Northeastern U.S. Corresponding author: jtk57@cornell.edu