The Center for Integrated Pest Management (CIPM) has a new Pesticide Environmental Stewardship (PES) website. The site is designed for anyone who applies, sells, stores, or disposes of pesticides; provides advice or training on pesticide use; or is involved in pesticide stewardship or regulation.
“Our ultimate goal is to cover the basic tenets that apply regardless of who you are, where you live or the pest you’re trying to control,” says Wayne Buhler of North Carolina State University, PES national coordinator and a Pesticide Safety Education Program coordinator for North Carolina. “There are fundamental principles and practices to be aware of whether you are protecting agricultural crops, homegrown vegetables, a lawn or golf course. We hope that whenever the choice is made to use a pesticide, good stewardship practices will be followed.”
The new website complements the work of county extension agents and state-level Pesticide Safety Education programs. It covers a wide variety of stewardship topics, ranging from pesticide storage, handling and disposal to how to avoid drift, runoff and leaching during and after the application. Homeowners can go straight to a section geared to their needs.
Buhler’s colleagues in the Pesticide Safety Education Program from across the U.S. were instrumental in the development of PES, including Ron Gardner of Cornell University, Carol Ramsay of Washington State University, Jim Wilson of South Dakota State University and Fred Whitford of Purdue University. Other scientists in academia, Extension, government and industry partnered with CIPM on the project, including members of the Weed Science Society of America, the Entomological Society of America and the American Phytopathological Society.
“We know there is a wealth of expertise in the public and private sector regarding pesticide stewardship,” observes Gardner. “We look forward to a growing list of partners who will help us add value to current and future topics on the site.”
A pesticide-resistance-management topic is currently under development. Future plans include educational quizzes to reinforce important stewardship concepts and self-assessment tools to evaluate personal stewardship practices.
“Search the web for phrases like ‘pesticide stewardship and drift’ and you will get thousands of results,” says Carol Somody, senior stewardship manager for Syngenta Crop Protection and PES industry coordinator. “It can be quite overwhelming to someone who wants to start with the basics, and teaching the basics is the purpose of PES. It provides a much-needed entry point to essential pesticide stewardship information.”
10 Stewardship Tips from the Pesticide Environmental Stewardship (PES) Website