# Pesticide Question



## mickeyyarber1 (Dec 27, 2010)

My wife's grandfather has a question. He sprayed Ortho Home Defense Max pesticide spray on his potato and green bean plants. He did this when the potatoes bushs were leafing out, and while the green bean plants were only about 5 inches tall. Now, he is concerned about eating and serving those veggies. He is wondering if spraying those plants at that time, would the pesticide have gotten into the vegs themselves. Any help with this question will be much appreciated.


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## oneokie (Aug 14, 2009)

Do an online search for a sample label for that chemical. It will tell what plants it is approved to use on and any pre-harvest interval.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> would the pesticide have gotten* into *the vegs themselves


Probably not since the active ingredient isn't water soluble.

I'd scrub and peel the potatoes really well though, because it lasts a long time in the soil


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## Marcia in MT (May 11, 2002)

What does the package say?


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## T-Bone 369 (Jan 18, 2007)

The active ingredient is bifenthrin, which is in the pyrethroid family. There are several products that bifenthrin is in that are useable on some vegies (Capture and Brigade) but to use the Ortho HDM is way off label. You do not know the actual application rate of the HDM so there is no way to tell if it was a massive overdose or a weak squirt that was inefectual. The Brigade label I have looks to have about a 7 day PHI but I would not suggest using the crops - there are too unknowns. I doubt very much it would kill you or make you sick (bifenthrin does have some slight cancer risk) but I doubt it would be worth the risk. 

In the future I would suggest that he find a product that is labeled for the plants he is using it on and against the insects that are the problem. Would save a lot of problems in the long run.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

MSDS sheet:

http://whatsinproducts.com/msds/15008069 MSDS ORTHO Home Defense MAX RTU Insect Killer 060804.pdf

According to this it's "mildly toxic" if swallowed and "causes cancer in male mice at high dosages"

Brigade can be used on vegetables, and is *10%* Bifenthrin

http://www.fmccrop.com/resources/pdf/brigade-wsb.pdf

Ortho Home Defense is only *0.05%*


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## gobug (Dec 10, 2003)

The primary mode of action on the home defense product is as a repellent. It is not injested by the plant, but resides on the surface. I don't think there is much which goes into the plant except maybe on micro quantity level. The warnings are based on eating the surface which was sprayed. If the part of the plant which was eaten was not sprayed and grew into existance after the plant and soil were sprayed, there will be a very small amount consumed, if any.

I totally agree with Tbone. I also suggest you call the HomeDefense technical support line and ask them your questions.
Gary


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## T-Bone 369 (Jan 18, 2007)

Bearfootfarm said:


> MSDS sheet:
> 
> http://whatsinproducts.com/msds/15008069 MSDS ORTHO Home Defense MAX RTU Insect Killer 060804.pdf
> 
> ...


Your comparing apples and oranges here - the Ortho product is a pre-mix where all you do is spray. Brigade is a concentrate designed to be tank mixed prior to application and thus in the useable formulation much more diluted.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> Your comparing apples and oranges here - the Ortho product is a pre-mix where all you do is spray. Brigade is a concentrate designed to be tank mixed prior to application and thus in the useable formulation *much more diluted*.


More diluted than* 0.05%*?
I'm comparing chemical concentrations
It's the* same chemical*, and probably ends up as the same concentration, if not stronger

The "pre harvest " interval for potatoes is* 21 days*

http://www.umaine.edu/umext/potatoprogram/Pest Control Guide/insecticides.pdf

For Green Beans it's only *3 days*
http://ohioline.osu.edu/b672/pdf/Beans.pdf


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## T-Bone 369 (Jan 18, 2007)

I should have been clearer on that - sorry. It is much less diluted that the 10% figure you gave. It's difficult to give an accurate number for concentration on field spray as it depends on the amount of fluid you mix it into (which is a function of the callibration of your spray equipment). Using the minimum amount for potatoes with the minimum amount of mix it works out to about .1% active ingredient. However your applying it at a known application rate (2.1 fl/oz concentrate/acre) so what actually is applied to each plant is a pretty small dose. If he grabbed the spray bottle and started squirting who knows how much the plants were exposed to. It might be a little, it might be a lot.


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