Best Management Practices for Orchard Spraying

The absence of an unsprayed buffer and the lack of vegetation along a streamside increase the likelihood that chemical pesticides will directly enter waterways, either by overland runoff or aerial drift. 

Maintain an unsprayed vegetated buffer of at least 20 feet between orchards and waterways.  Larger buffers maybe required for some pesticides near certain waterways.  A map of affected streams and a list of pesticide active ingredients requiring larger buffers are available at:

http://www.oda.state.or.us/pesticide/pubform/maps/hoodriver.pdf

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Unsprayed vegetated buffers:

 

1.       reduce water pollution by filtering sediment, chemicals, and nutrients from runoff

2.       increase the distance between sensitive areas and pesticide application, reducing potential for drift.

3.       provide habitat for beneficial insects