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By 2012, all orchard producers must switch their operations to non-organophosphate pesticides to comply with Environmental Protection Agency standards. This change will have lasting positive effects on the waterways of Washington, but will also increase operating costs for orchardists.
An approved, non-organophosphate, Spinosad, will cost more and may require a special sprayer with a larger nozzle. In 2008 Benton Conservation District (BCD) cost-shared with 14 producers to pay the difference between the cost of conventional and Spinosad sprays.
The program also cost-shared the purchase of special sprayers if the producers wished to purchase them, and producers were given Trece® insect traps to place in their cherry orchards.
Traps allowed orchardists to identify which insect pests entered their orchards at specific times during the growing season, information that allowed producers to time their spraying much more efficiently.
The contents of the traps can also show that the new non-organophosphates are effective in controlling pests.
One orchardist remarked, “It has been completely effective, and the time involved with the application fits easily into harvest schedule and demands.”
The program resulted in 348.5 acres enrolled for the one-year program. Most of the program area was within one mile of a river or stream, which contributes to reducing organophosphates in the Lower Yakima River watershed.
With BCD assistance, participating producers are now “ahead of their time,” controlling pests with new, safer chemicals well before the 2012 deadline.
For more information, please contact the Benton Conservation District.
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