Farm management pesticides

Pesticides are considered a necessary evil however, it has been estimated that without their use food expenditure for western families would more than double (Zilberman et al. 1991) and, much worse, food shortage would be more acute in many third world countries about 40% crop production would be lost, according to FAO. Pest and pesticide control is probably the sector where a really integrated view of farm management is most required certainly, pest treatments by calendar as largely in use till a few years ago and still in use today here and there are unsustainable. The principles of targeting interventions according to real need as advocated... 

Goldsworthy, P.E. and Carter, P. (1998) The safe disposal of clean agrochemical containers on farm - an interim report. BCPC Symposium No. 70 Managing Pesticide Waste and Packaging, pp. 85-88. 

Because the farm enterprise will require more technical service, it is reasonable to assume that our sales representatives will become more technically oriented in order to provide farmers, farm managers, and distributors the technical information required. They will have to be crop specialists because they will be selling crop programs, not just products. Support of these personnel and services will require more sophisticated educational and communication techniques to insure effective and safe use of pesticides. 

One of the consequences of this approach is that the actual benefits of fertilizers are over estimated in fertility trials relative to when they are used by farmers. In addition, the resulte from adverse years v en no or poor response to fertilizer occurs are usuatty not reported because weather caused no response to the nutrient. Unfortunately, farmers cannot make decisions under a similar lack of constraints they must make investment decisions regarding seed, pesticides, labor, and fertilizer ir uts in a total farm management context. To majd-mize the benefits from management factors, the limiting factors should be in balance with each other, e.g., the crop variety must be able to benefit from the fertilizers used. Weed and insect control, plant density, water availability, tillage, and other management practices should be adequate for the farmer to realize a profit from fertilizer use. 

If yield is being affected, a farm manager decides the type, distribution and amount of treatment to apply. Remedial measures can then be carried out to ensure that the correct treatment is applied at the required rate and to the appropriate area within a field. In effect, the spatial variability in field is managed through the manipulation of inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides. 

Tables 14.6, 14.7, 14.8, 14.9 and 14.10 provide further insight into the comparative properties and toxicity of pesticides applied on organic and conventional farms to treat a given type of pest. Table 14.6 lists the primary pesticides approved for use on organic farms and their uses and target pests. Tables 14.7-14.10 again list the major organic pesticides, along with two or three conventional pesticide alternatives that are used by conventional farmers to manage the same pest problems. Tables 14.7 and 14.8 summarize the rates of application of these pesticides, while Tables 14.9 and 14.10 focus on relative measures of toxicity to mammals and other organisms.

A final assessment can conclude that organic farming creates "comparatively more favourable" conditions on the species and ecosystem level of floral and faunal diversity than conventional farming systems. This is due to a plant protection management (ban of synthetic pesticides) that is better for the biotic... 

A farmer, however, disposing of waste pesticides which are hazardous wastes, from his own use, is not required to comply with the RCRA notification or management standards provided he triple rinses each emptied pesticide container and disposes of the pesticide residues on his own farm in a manner consistent with the disposal instructions on the pesticide label. This exemption from the RCRA management controls does not apply, however, to commercial pesticide applicators. 

Yield is not the only indicator of farm productivity. Inputs used to deliver those yields should also be considered, and can be in the form of materials, as discussed below, but they may also be in different forms. For example, one way to manage soil fertility and pest problems on organic farms is to employ a different rotation from that on conventional farms where synthetic fertilisers and pesticides can perform those tasks. Because of the difference in rotation, which may also mean a larger diversity of crops, the whole farm needs to be considered when determining productivity and profitability. 

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