North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Doreen Howard" <gardendiva@charter.net>]

Partially true.  Grazon is also a clopyralid product, and it is still used
extensively by alfalfa, wheat and other grain farmers.  Hay from such fields
is often sold at garden centers for mulch.  It was such a situation where I
first learned of the damage cloyyralids can cause.  Commerical composters
also have used residues from wheat fields and alfalfa hay to produce bagged
product.  Clopyralids do NOT break down in the composting process.  And,
they remain in the soil up to 14 months, depending on soil type and climate.
That is enough time to inhibit a fruit crop for at least one season.
Doreen Howard

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "gorgon zolla" <lazolla@hotmail.com>
To: <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2003 2:26 PM
Subject: Clopyralid; was Re: [NAFEX] Bumper Crop/caution


> << Not only do you have to worry about herbicides in snarf leaves, but you
> have
> to consider that leaves and grass clippings that have been subjected to
the
> clorpyralid class of herbicides will destroy your fruit crops.  Anecdotal
> information and some early studies reveal that cloryralids will inhibit
> fruit formation for at least one season in stone fruits and pomes.
> Washington state orchards suffered drift from this herbicide used by road
> maintenance crew destroying roadside growth.  The orchards' apples, pears
> and peaches did not fruit the next season.  Annuals died and perennials
> didn't flower either.  So....know your leaves and clippings.  Ask about
> their upbringing! >>
>
> The residentail uses for Confront have been deleted from the product
labels
> since mid-2002 (see http://www.dowagro.com/newsroom/news/072602.htm).
> Confront was the only clopyralid formulation labelled for use on
residential
> lawns.  Since Confront was only ever sold through commercial channels, not
> to homeowners, I doubt if there is any residential-labelled confront left
> today.  The commercial uses that are still listed (mainly golf courses)
> require clippings to be kept out of any municipal compost flow.
>
> Spray drifts containing clopyralid products will cause severe injury to
> trees if permitted to contact the foliage, like any of the phenoxy or
> pyridine families of herbicides.  In fact, triclopyr, the other active
> ingredient in Confront, has far more potential for damaging drift (to
trees)
> than the clopyralid, from what I have seen through using the each of the
two
> chemicals alone.
>
> However, because clopyralid is not mobile in the soil, mulch contaminated
> with clopyralid is unlikely to damage trees.
>
> The reported injury with compost has mainly involved beans and other
> legumes, and tomatoes and other nightshades, both families that are
> unusually susceptible to clopyralid; also, it has involved situations
where
> the roots of the plant penetrated the compost, or where the tender green
> growth has been in contact with the mulch, as with strawberries.
>
> Steve Dunlop
> Nerstrand, MN
>
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