Effectiveness of cultivation practices to minimize the off-site transport of pesticides in runoff from managed turf

Pesticides associated with the turfgrass industry have been detected in stormwater runoff and surface waters of urban watersheds. The detection of pesticides at locations where they have not been applied along with reported effects of pesticides to non-target organisms at environmentally relevant levels has raised the need to provide methodologies to control their off-site transport. We designed experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of cultivation practices to mitigate the off-site transport of herbicides in runoff from turf managed as a golf course fairway. Overall hollow tine core cultivation (HTCC) showed a reduction in runoff relative to the no core cultivation (NCC), solid tine core cultivation (STCC) and verticutting (VC). Likewise the percentage of applied herbicides measured in the runoff were smaller from turf managed with HTCC. These trends were statistically significant for dicamba, MCPP, and 2,4-D when comparing HTCC versus STCC at 2d following core cultivation, for 2,4-D when comparing HTCC with STCC at 63d following core cultivation, and for 2,4-D when comparing HTCC with VC. Results of this research provide quantitative information that will allow for informed decisions on management practices for turf that can maximize pesticide retention at the site of application; improving pest control while minimizing environmental contamination and adverse effects associated with the off-site transport of pesticides to surface waters.