Hood River Grower-Shipper Association -- Best Management Practices Project |
Best
Management Practices for Orchard Spraying |
Maintain an air gap between filler pipes and sprayers
to prevent backflow. Preventing backflow reduces the possibility of chemical contamination of
the water source and delivery system. |
Prevent chemical runoff and off-target contamination
during mixing and loading procedures. |
Rinse pesticide containers when filling sprayers and
mix rinsate back into spray tank. Store rinsed plastic containers away from
waterways. Recycle containers or dispose of according to label
directions, do not burn. |
Apply spray tank rinse water back into the orchard --
do not drain it in one spot. Applying rinsate back into the orchard reduces likelihood of overland
runoff and contamination of open water sources. Depositing rinsate into one spot significantly increases the potential
for overland runoff and contamination of open water sources. |
Do not overfill sprayers. Use anti-foaming agent to reduce the
risk. |