Toxicity of Coffee versus common Lawn weed killers(2,4-D)

How do 2,4-D mixtures used to kill weeds on lawns compare in toxicity to coffee?

2,4-D is a common weed killer used in lawn care programs to keep dandelions and other weeds out of lawns. How toxic is this commonly used pesticide? Do you still want to drink coffee?

According to kidshealth.org . . . “Although the United States hasn't yet developed guidelines for caffeine intake and kids, Canadian guidelines recommend that preschool children get no more than 45 milligrams of caffeine a day. That's equivalent to the average amount of caffeine found in a 12-ounce (355-milliliter) can of soda or four 1.5-ounce (43-gram) milk chocolate bars.” Or also the amount found in a cup of coffee.

From Wikipedia, we find that “The median lethal dose (LD₅₀) of caffeine is 192 milligrams per kilogram in rats.” The wikipedia article also states that “In general, one serving of coffee ranges from 40 milligrams, for a single shot (30 milliliters) of arabica-variety espresso, to about 100 milligrams for a cup (120 milliliters) of drip coffee.^”

On the toxicity of 2,4-d, Wikipedia says “The LD₅₀ . . . according to US EPA 2,4-D Reregistration Eligiblity Decision, 2006, is 639 mg/kg.” This means that the main herbicidal ingredient used in common lawn weed killer mixtures is 3 time LESS toxic than caffeine.

2,4-D is usually found in a mixture. If one were to use the LD50 of Killex a common retail product – the LD50 is listed as 375 mg/kg- which would make it only HALF as toxic as caffeine.

But what about the toxicity in its common form. For coffee- LD50 192 milligrams per kilogram with 40 milligrams per 120 milliliter cup. This calculates that a 1 kg rat would have to drink 192/40 = 4.8 cups of coffee to get the 192 milligrams of caffeine to provide a Lethal Dose to 50% of the population. At 120 ml per cup that would mean 576 millilitres of coffee.

According to about.com, an average female weighs 162 pounds (=162/2.24= 72 kg). This means this average female would have to drink 4.8 cups times 72 kg or 561 cups of coffee to receive a lethal dose of caffeine.

How about 2,4-D is in a spray mixture? According to terralink-horticulture.com , the LD50 for the Killex mixture is >5000 mg/kg.

If Killex weighs similar to water, then 1 ml weighs 1 mg. Which means the poor rat would have to drink/ingest 5000 ml or 5 litres of Killex concentrate to receive a lethal dose.

Therefore compared to coffee, Killex concentrate is 5000/576 is 8 times less toxic than coffee.

Since Killex ( a common weed control mixture) is normally used in a mix the same rate would need a large volume of Killex mixture. The suggested rate is 5.5 Litres per hectare in 300-1,500 Litres. Using the most concentrated rate would mean 5.5 L/300 Litres or 5500 ml/300 litres or which equals 55ml/3 litres or 19 ml/litre Therefore to get 500 mg of Killex into that poor rat, he would need to ingest 5000/19 = 263 litres of Killex mixture.

In comparison, therefore the weed killer sprayed on lawns is 263 litres/.576 litres or 456 times LESS toxic than coffee. Weed killer spray is 456 times LESS toxic than Coffee.

Or Coffee is 456 time MORE TOXIC than weed killer.

Ontario Turfgrass Symposium Summary Day Two

Ontario Turfgrass Symposium Summary Day Two

More snippets from the Symposium

First speaker was Dr Alan Watson from McGill University talking about Sarritor. See our earlier blog entries about this new organic dandelion control.

Dr Sophie Rochefort of Viridis-Conseil presented information on Lawn Biodiversity-Debunking the Myth. Traditional view holds that a lawn has a lower biodiversity than natural ecosystems. And people tend to think that a monoculture is more likely to have pest problems. Her research has shown that there is a tremendous variety of arthropod (insects, archnids, and other) species and organisms living in a lawn. Given the large variety of arthropods, some of her work focused on Collembola or springtails.
A lawn can hold from 10 to 46 thousand individuals per square metre. The numbers were comparable to the populations in a prairie ecosystem or in a field crop. The population was also similar for newly established lawns and for a 10 year old lawn. Her work showed that even after pesticide applications, the population numbers were affected in a minor way and only for a short period of time.

Dr Ken Carey from the Guelph Turfgrass Institute spoke about his work on “Water Use Requirements for Turf Establishment.” His research shows that although different seeding or sodding methods can be used to renovate or repair damaged lawns, the most critical factor in getting the new lawn to establish was the amount of water. Not enough water and seeds will fill in slowly. Not enough water and sod roots will dry out and die. Given lots of water, establishment is faster and the density will be greater.

Ken Pavely from Dol Turf Restoration spoke about Lawn Renovation Techniques. One of his recommendations was to apply Kelp to overseeded lawns. Kelp is to grass seedlings as Steroids are to baseball players. His experience showed that an application of kelp to lawns that were establishing poorly was able to speed up the seedling growth to the place where the poor lawn was no different from the good lawn.

Dr. Eric Lyons from the University of Guelph discussed root growth. Dr Lyons stressed how “Healthy turf = Better roots” and “Better roots = Healthy turf.” The most important factor in producing good roots is mowing height. The higher the mowing height- the deeper the roots. The second factor is water. The third factor is nutrients. But, nutrients cannot be taken up by grass roots without moisture. Therefore watering is more important than nutrition when it comes to developing strong roots.

Dr Katerina Jordan also spoke on root systems. Stresses can greatly impact the health of a lawn. Stresses can include soil compaction, excessive thatch, incorrect mowing, insects and disease. In all cases, a healthy root system is better able to withstand poor conditions. So while correcting poor soil or poor mowing habits is important, keeping the lawn roots healthy will go a long way in reducing the negative effects of the various stresses and pests that lawns face.
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Ontario Turfgrass Symposium Summary Day One

Ontario Turfgrass Symposium Summary Day One

One can always learn a thing or two by listening carefully to what seminar speakers have to say. Sometimes it is the same old, same old. Yet those “same olds” are often the important foundations to what we do and how we do what we do. Hearing them again can only serve to reinforce their importance and to remind us of how to improve our lawn care service.

Dr Tom Hsiang, from the University of Guelph spoke on “Neurotic and Rusty”

After the ice breaker, he got right down to business with a talk on 2 turf diseases- Necrotic Ring Spot disease and Rust disease.

Necrotic ring spot is a lawn disease that is associated with sod and compacted soils. Certainly the conditions at new home construction sites are often not conducive to the best growing conditions for new sod. The roots of the sod have been trimmed off, and the poor soil conditions can lead to a greater chance for infection.

Necrotic ring spot infection often occurs during the spring when the soil is moist, and temperatures are between 10-20 degrees Celsius. Spores or mycelia in the thatch infect the root of susceptible lawn varieties such as Kentucky bluegrass and fine fescues. The symptoms may not appear for 12-18 months later. Those symptoms include sunken, dead or dying patches 4 inches to 2 feet across. Typically there is a green center or frog’s eye.

For control, there is no easy one shot method. Basically, Dr Hsiang says there are 3 things to do.

1. encourage deep rooting by aerating and proper nutrient applications

2. promote growth in the spring and fall, but to reduce summer succulence (soft tissues)

3. overseed with resistant grasses- perennial ryegrasses.

Rust disease is a disease that attacks perennial ryegrass and Kentucky bluegrass. During the summer, yellow-orange spots on the leaf blades produce millions of spores that are sent through the air to infect more grass blades. This disease’s symptoms are more prevalent during dry summers, even though infection occurs during wet springs.

To control rust outbreaks, Dr Hsiang recommends 2 things.

1. Increase the mowing height as this will cause the grass to grow faster

2. increase the mowing frequency.

Since the disease has 2 week latent period, the grass can outgrow the symptoms.

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Nancy Hudson of the Newfoundland and Labrador Horticulture Producers’ Council presented her research on the use of vacuums to reduce chinch bug damage. Her research has shown that vacuuming can be an effective method of chinch bug control. By physically removing the chinch bugs from the lawn, the damage is stopped. However, the vacuums used in research plots are not practical in everyday situations. The next step is to use the results to adapt vacuums so that they can be purchased and used economically.

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Dr Sophie Rochefort of Viridis-Conseil presented information on the use of Endophytic Turfgrasses to control chinch bug . An endophyte is a fungus that lives inside a plant in a symbiotic relationship. The endophyte produces alkaloids that affect insect pest responses.

The first response is antixenosis –which really means that the insect pest will show a negative preference to an endophytic grass. It will feed on a non-endophytic grass before feeding on an endophytic grass.

The second response is antibiosis – here the insect pest feeding and reproduction are affected to such a degree as to reduce damage to the host plant.

Endophytic grasses also show resistance to rust disease, better drought and stress tolerance, as well as increased plant vigour and growth.

Certain perennial ryegrasses have been shown to exhibit endophytic properties.

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© Copyright 2008 Turf King-Hamilton. All Rights Reserved.

New Organic Dandelion Control

We met with Jeff Watson, the President of Sarritor. Sarritor is the name of the company and the name of a new Organic Dandelion Fungus that will control dandelions and other broadleaf weeds in lawns. Sarritor is a "naturally occuring weed control." This may be the breakthrough that will change organic lawn care.
We first spoke about Sarritor in our blog in December. New Dandelion Control- Made in Canada
Jeff Watson has been working with his father, Dr Alan Watson, the "inventor" of Sarritor since December 2004. Aong with dandelion, Sarritor will control a long list of weeds including: thistle, white clover, burdock, ox-eye daisy, Canada fleabane, plantain, yarrow, Chicory, Canada thistle, wild strawberry and more. It even works reasonably well on wild violets, one weed that is hard to control with the traditional herbicides.

The product is applied in granular form. The fungus is impregnated on barley grits. The product needs to be moistened by irrigating or rainfall within 12 hours. Once the product is moistened, the fungus starts to grow with white mycelium.

The white mycelia will invade any susceptible plants that are nearby. In a few days the white mycelia disappears, but by then it's too late for the weeds. The dandelion will die in 7-10 days when the temperatures are 18-22 degrees Celsius. If the weather is cooler, the weeds may take up to 2 weeks to die. Although tough old dandelions may need more than one application, young dandelions are controlled with a single treatment.

Fortunately, for lawns, grasses have a natural resistance to this particular fungal disease. The product should be kept away from vegetable and flower plants as the fungus can cause these kinds of plants to die as well.
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One advantage of Sarritor over the old herbicides is that it can be applied in the rain. Since the fungus needs moisture to be activated, applying the product in the rain is not a problem. However, high temperatures can de-activate the fungus, and Sarritor should not be applied if the temperature is expected to be over 30 degrees Celsius.

Sarritor has no safety issues that some biologicals may encounter. It does not reproduce by spores. It does not produce toxins. It does not persist in the environment. It does not spread.

Jeff Watson expects that large scale production will begin for the 2009 season. A manufacturing facility is expected to be up and running, but supplies may be limited for the first year.

If you did not use Turf King Lawn Care in 2015- Ask for a St Patrick's Day Discount. Expires March 17, 2016

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

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New Insecticide Registration

A new insecticide is now available for use on home lawns to control insects such as Chinch Bug, Ants, and Sodweb worm. DeltaGard , is a third generation synthetic pyrethroid that in addition to formulation improvements provides, superior knockdown activity at much lower use rates than exhibited in previous generations of this insecticide family.
Pyrethroids are essentially man made versions of a natural insecticide (pyrethrins) derived from chrysanthemum plants that is found in nature. This class of insecticides generally exhibits beneficial characteristics that include high toxicity to insects, low toxicity to humans and fast degradation in the environment.

By low toxicity, we mean that the LD50 of Deltagard is in the range of “greater than 15,000 mg/kg.” This means that in comparison to table salt, deltamethrin (the active ingredient) is 5 times LESS toxic. Sodium chloride or table salt has an LD50 of 3,000 mg/kg. See our library entry Safety Issues- Toxicity & LD50 .

Here at Turf King Hamilton, we will continue to use organic insecticides in our Lawn Care programs where possible. If the situation is such that an particular stubborn infestation needs a pesticide treatment, it is good to know that an insecticide of very low mammalian toxicity such as Deltagard is now available.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please give us a call at 905.318.6677 or visit or website www.hamiltonturfking.ca

Does your Lawn Season starts with Too Many Phone Calls?

Some of our competitors are already manning the phones -calling and bothering homeowners about their lawn care programs. Trying to sign up new customers. I heard that last year, one company was offering customers of Company B $50 off if they would switch. So this year I hear Company B is offering customer of Company A to switch to them.

Turf King Hamilton does not telemarket the general public. Your privacy and respect are important to us. We want to treat you as we would like to be treated- and we don't like to be called by telemarketers at suppertime. (We will be calling our customers from last year to make sure that they are wanting to continue to have us look after their lawns for the upcoming year.)

In December, 22007, the CRTC announced that Bell will administer the Do-Not-Call list for Canada . While this list was announced a while ago, the wheels of bureaucracy are slowly turning and things should be in place by next fall.

For more information from the CRTC about current rules on telemarketing contact http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/INFO_SHT/T22.htm What is surprising is that there are restrictions on the time of day that a telemarketer can send faxes, but there is no restriction on the times to make phone calls.

In the meantime, if someone does call you, and you want a second opinion on your lawn, please give us a call at 905.318.6677 or visit or website www.hamiltonturfking.ca

The Art of More Paths

Lawns can be more than just a lawn in a garden.
A garden is are considered to be made up of trees, plants, flowers and flower beds. Certainly all of these elements are an integral and important part of a garden. Sometimes, lawns are sometimes looked upon as just the green stuff, the filler if you will between the flamboyant and colourful beds of well-designed and beautiful flowers and shrubs.

But, in reality, the lawn is more than just filler. It is the adhesive that binds all these sometimes diverse and varied elements together. The lawn can be a frame for the flowers. And, it can be the canvas on which the garden is painted.

We visited the Brookgreen Gardens in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina a few years ago. Here in addition to being the background for the camellias and azaleas, the lawns are also there to enhance the many figurative statues that grace the 9,200 acre site.

The photo I took is of the The Live Oak Allee garden. These 250 year old live oaks trees were planted in the early 1700s when Brookgreen Gardens was a thriving rice plantation. These inspiring matriarchs frame this garden space like a living cathedral. But here, also the lawn is an important element in allowing the visitor to take in all the beauty.

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www.lawncarewaterdown.com

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"MCGUINTY GOVERNMENT REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS"

On November 20, 2007, the following headline appeared on the Premier's website.
"MCGUINTY GOVERNMENT REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL TOXIN"

Part of the election promise was "Legislation to ban the cosmetic use of pesticides to be introduced in the spring of 2008."

Between now and February 17, 2008 the Environmental Registry is accepting public comment on just how this legislation should be crafted.

This is what the website lists the purpose of the proposal and contains a link where comments can be submitted.

If you have any questions you would like Turf King to answer, please email us at hamilton@turf-king.ca or visit our website to send us a comment.

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The purpose of this proposal is to inform the public of the government's policy intent to implement a ban on the cosmetic use of pesticides, and solicit feedback from the public as the government considers policy options relating to the following:

1. Determining the Scope of the Ban

The proposed ban would apply to cosmetic uses of pesticides, those intended to improve the appearance of lawns, gardens, parks and school yards. Do you have any comments on the proposed scope?

The proposed ban would allow pesticides to be used in situations where it is warranted to help ensure public health (for example, to fight West Nile virus). Are there other situations where the use of pesticides should be allowed?

2. Sale of Cosmetic Pesticides

Other jurisdictions have banned the sale of pesticides used solely for cosmetic purposes while municipalities in Ontario have regulated the use of certain pesticides . Should the province consider banning the sale of those pesticides used solely for cosmetic purposes?

3. Exemptions/Restrictions

It is proposed that uses of pesticides for the purposes of agriculture and managed forests would be exempt, as they are already governed by stringent rules on the storage and application of pesticides.

The government indicated that the focus of the ban would be on “towns and cities, and not on restrictions on rural residents.” Do you have any comments on this approach?

4. Exemptions for Golf Courses

It is proposed that golf courses would also be exempt, but would be required to develop plans to limit the environmental impact of pesticides. Should the government consider setting out minimum requirements for the plans developed by golf course owners/operators? What should the requirements include?

5. Timing

The government proposes to introduce legislation in the spring of 2008, with a phased-in implementation (e.g. 3 years).