What are some factors to reduce pesticide risks? 

- Banning or deregulation of most toxic products

-Regulation and appropriate use of registered products

-Using the least toxic, yet effective products

-reduce pesticide use

-Ablility to measure pesticide risk 

Differentiate between Organic and Conventional 

Pesticide use

-Organic: pesticides derived from natural sources.

• Pesticides permitted for use in agricultural systems
• Botanical, mineral, microbial  

-Conventional: Synthetic

• synthetic origin of natural resources or "man-made" chemical classes
• not permitted in organic systems. 

What is safer? 

a) Caffeine

b) Insecticide 

a) Caffeine

How do we measure Acute Toxicity? 

LD₅₀ = the dose of the compound needed to cause the death in 50% of the test population. 

The lower the LD₅₀ the more toxic the compound

Which is safer ? 

Rotenone (natural insecticide)

 or DDT (synthetic insecticide)

LD₅₀ Values

Rotetone: 132mg/kg

DDT: 113 mg/kg 

What is the environmental impact quotient? 

A method to measure the environmental impact of pesticides

How are environmental impacts assecced? 

EIQ= Environmental Impact Quotient

(used to rank the relative impact of a given pestcide) 

Afunction of farm worker, consumer and ecological risks.

EIQ is a per unit mass rating of the relative impact of a pesticide

-Calculated from MSDS values for toxicity to fish mammals, pollinator, half life, systemicity, etc. 

EIQ= (farmworker risk + consumer risk + ecological risk)/3

Farm worker risk= C[DT*5) + (DT*P)] 

What does this equation represent? 

-Chronic toxicity x Applicator exposure plus picker exposure. 

• C= Chronic toxicity C
• DT= Dermal toxicity 
• P= plant surface 1/3 life. 

Consumer Risk = [C ((S+P))/2 * SY) + (L) ] 

What does this equation represent?

• Consumer exposure potential + leaching potential)
• Consumer exposure = chronic toxicity (C) 
• x Average for residue  potential in soil (S) and plant Surfaces (P)  x Systematic potential rating (SY) of the pesticide
• Leaching Potential(L) = potential groundwater effects. 

What are the max and min values of EIQ?

Lower thr EIQ,the lower theimpact. 

Min EIQ= 6.7 

Max= 225

Higher the EIQ FUR indicates more impact / app. 

EIQ=EIQ x % Active Ingredient x rate

Comparison of pesticides

Assessment of Environmental impact of different pesticides in order to select least toxic product for use 

Comparison of pest management strategies 

Assessemt pf enviromental impact of different pest management strategies

Soybean Aphid- 

Aphis Glycines

• Invase Species from Asia
• Discovered in North America in 2000
• 50% Yeild Losses without pesticides
• Organic and conventional solutions needed

What conditions is spray needed to combat aphids? 

a)Low Aphids, low natural enemies

b) High Aphids, low natural enemies

c) High Aphids, high natural enemies

High Aphids 

Low natural Enemies

Natural Enemies- Lab Assays

What is the most harmful pesticide to Aphelinus wasps?

Matador is the most harmful to Aphelinus wasps

Feild Selectivity 

Aphids vs. Natural Enemies. 

Movento has highest selective index

 Lagon, Superior oil andBotanigard are the least selective. 

Beleaf vs Monvento

Both show promise as reduced-risk products or SBA control

Superior and Botangigard (organic) 

negative or positive impact? 

-Similar or greater negative impact on several neutral enemy species

-Limited efficiencies

- High EIQFURs

What are some ways we can reduce the

risk of pesticides ?

- Ban or deregulate most toxic products

-Regulation and appropriate use of registered products

-Reduction of pesticide use

• Non-chemical methods; integrated pest management, dynamic action thresholds

- Use of least impactful, effective products

A take home message for the lovely people in the world

(and the hippies) :

-Don't Assume that because it's natural, it's safe or 'good' 

-Users need information on environmental impact of available pesticides 

• Growers + homeoweners
• EIQ

- Use pesticides and products with least environmental impact, regardless of origin.