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Key regulatory changes and what they mean and public impact ; Pesticide Safety and reporting issues. Species at Risk Regulation

Rinsate from cleaning your sprayer can be a huge issue for many applicators as what to do with it. This seminar looks at new pesticide technology where less rinsing is required plus the options of handling rinsate of your cleaned sprayers. Applicators from previous decades did not realize the impact of pesticide rinsate had on the environment, but now applicators realize the impact and must deal with it.

Definition of IPM and a discussion on the principles of IPM: Pest identification; Monitoring; Threshold levels; Control measures and Evaluation. An example will be used to illustrate the principles.

Nozzle manufacturers over the last few years have really stepped up to the plate when it comes to developing drift reducing nozzles. As pesticide applicators, we are always concerned about spray drift to off target locations, thus many applicators have chosen drift reduction nozzles to reduce the potential for spray drift. Unfortunately spray coverage may not be adequate for some pesticides with drift reduction nozzles and the pesticide may not be doing as good a job as we have hoped for. Join Tim as he looks at the topic of balancing spray drift vs. spray coverage.

This module will provide an overview of IPM, discuss the botanical characteristics of these 3 weeds, their method of spread, their economic impact and the application of IPM techniques and strategies to control these 3 noxious weeds in agricultural, industrial and urban environments.

Small sprayers need to be calibrated too. Many misapplications have been made with small sprayers as anyone can purchase these sprayers and most people do not know how to calibrate them properly. Join Tim as he shows you his approach on how to calibrate these sprayers so your pesticide application can be done accurately and safely.

Rinsate water when cleaning your sprayer is a huge concern for pesticide applicators. We need to clean our sprayers, yet how to we dispose of the rinsate in an environmentally friendly way. Join Tom Wolf as he talks about a new alternative when dealing with rinsate, Biobeds.

This webinar looks at the current status of biological weed control agents in Canada. Biological control has had some success over the years but with increasing pressure on chemical pesticide use, it is important to keep updated on what is happening with biological control agents. Join Tim as he reviews the current status of biological weed control agents and what the future looks like.

One of the enduring challenges in spraying is providing good canopy coverage for late season spraying of taller canopies, either for desiccation or fungicide. The use of double nozzles, boom height, water volumes, and travel speed are explored for improving pesticide performance. New double nozzle technologies available from a number of manufacturers are introduced and discussed.

It is important to understand the hazards associated with handling pesticides. Many things that are common sense to an experienced applicator are overlooked when training new applicators. This seminar will look at developing a hazard assessment and rating the risks associated with handling pesticides.

This topic integrates a number of important aspects of spraying at a range of travel speeds in the same field, including nozzle selection, effect of pressure on pattern uniformity and spray quality, and pesticide performance with various spray qualities. There will be some overlap with topic #1, but this talk emphasizes practical issues encountered with a modern high-clearance sprayer.

As more pressure is put on pesticide usage, applicators must look to an IPM program when dealing with unwanted vegetation. We may need to divide areas into different categories as far as what is acceptable and not acceptable. We need to be able to count or measure plant populations in order to decide the solution required. Monitoring of vegetation will be discussed. Thresholds will be defined and discussed. A look at various control measures will be examined included guidelines for selecting appropriate herbicides.

Spray drift is an applicator's worst nightmare. It is a leading cause of complaints for sprayer applicators. In the last few years, nozzle manufactures have developed different types of nozzles to help reduce drift. This web cast seminar looks at different types of nozzles and how they work. Also examined are other ways to reduce drift besides nozzle selection.

Pesticide storage is an important aspect of being a pesticide applicator. It is important to store your pesticides correctly. This web cast reviews some of the basic concepts to follow when storing pesticides. Many of the rules and regulations of pesticide storage are easy to compile with such as signage and organization. Take this one hour web cast to update your knowledge on pesticide storage so that you store your pesticides properly and safely.

Alberta water strategy; pesticide use in Alberta; Agronomic and environmental considerations; Pesticides characteristics and fate in the environment.

Plants and animals are completely different-or are they that different. Just because plants cannot run away, fight or scream, it does not mean they cannot defend themselves. They can communicate with each other or others such as pollinators or even predators of their enemies. Plants interact with each other and have defense systems. Join Tim as he looks at the world of plants and how we may be able to use their defense systems in IPM programs now and in the future. References used to develop this webinar: GG McNickle, CC St. Clair and JF Cahill, Jr.. "Focusing the metaphor: Plant root foraging behaviour." Trends in Ecology and Evolution24 (2009): 419-426. A. Weinhold, I. T. Baldwin: Trichome-derived O-acyl sugars are a first meal for caterpillars that tags them for predation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Early Edition, 25.-29. April 2011, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1101306108 Runyon, J.B., M.C. Mescher, and C.M. De Moraes. 2010. Plant defenses against parasitic plants show similarities to those induced by herbivores and pathogens. Plant Signaling & Behavior 8(5):929-931 Simard, S.W. (2012) Mycorrhizal networks and seedling establishment in Douglas-fir forests Biocomplexity of Plant–Fungal Interactions, First Edition. Edited by Darlene Southworth. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Chapter 4, pages 85-107. Activating the Plant’s Defenses: Karl Danneberger, Ph.D. Ohio University - http://www.unisci.com/stories/20022/0627023.htm -http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_defense_againstherbivory

This webinar takes IPM to the next level. New systems are being researched on putting together IPM techniques as a recipe whereas you may be able to reduce, eliminate or apply chemical pesticides less often. The PMRA system for qualifying reduced risk pesticides is examined. Two other rating systems are looked at in this webinar: one study out of Quebec called the Quebec Pesticide Risk Indicator and another from the USA called the Environmental Impact Quotient. Methods are discussed on how applicators can lower their environmental impact by cultural, biological and choosing pesticides with lower environmental impact. References used for this webinar: The PMRA Initiative for Reduced Risk Pesticides; Health Canada Quebec Pesticide Risk Indicator: Samuel, O., Dion, S., St-Laurent, L., April, M. A Method to Measure the Environmental Impact of Pesticides: J. Kovach*, C. Petzoldt, J. Degni**, and J. Tette, IPM Program, Cornell University, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station Geneva, New York 14456 Reducing Chemical Use on Golf Course Turf-Redefining IPM: Jennifer Grant Ph.D., Tyler McGonigal, Robert Portmess, Frank S. Rossi, Ph.D.

The world of soil microorganisms is an untapped world for all kinds of potential uses in the future with pesticide degradation being one of them. Many pesticides require residual qualities in order to do their job but there is a fine balance between being residual and causing environmental damage. This web cast seminar looks at factors in the soil that influence pesticide residues and degradation and look at ways in which we as pesticide applicators can help to assist pesticide degradation before it leaches into the subsoil or groundwater

This session is not meant to make you climatologists or TV forecasters. This session is meant to help you understand the drivers of air movement (applied at the work location) and to anticipate when that air movement may help you or hinder you in your efforts to get your treatment product through the air to your treatment target. Successful completion of this session, it will make your job easier and improve the percentage of product that makes it to the target. It will also reinforce your awareness of how critical this is to our industry.

One of the main concerns by operators, bystandewrs, and regulators is spray drift. This talk explores the definition of spray drift, the amounts of spray coming off average applications and where it goes, and the main tools for mitigating drift in practice. These include sprayer setup (nozzles, boom height, pressure, travel speed) and weather conditions (wind speed, direction, atmospheric stability (inversions), relative humidity, temperature, and topography (trees, hills). New research results with low-drift nozzles are provided. An introduction to buffer zones, label language, and an new on-line tool for calculating buffer zones is offered.

This one hour seminar covers the basics of calibration from nozzle selection to basic calibration procedures. There are a number of ways to calibrate a sprayer but Tim likes one in particular. He will take you step by step through his method to ensure accurate sprayer calibration.

Sprayers are actually fairly simple machines meant to apply pesticide accurately and evenly. Many applicators are reluctant to work or overhaul a sprayer as they may not work on it on a daily basis. Many mechanics are not taught about sprayers in their training and thus they are reluctant to work on them. Tim Garner will go over some simple sprayer circuits that sprayers follow depending on types of pumps. Let Tim show you that sprayers are uncomplicated and fairly easy to work with.

Unfortunately, we are seeing minute amounts of pesticides in our surface waters. One of the herbicides, 2,4-D is showing up in surface waters due to its large usage in the area of weed control. Is it having a detrimental effect on amphibians and other wildlife in an aquatic environment. This web cast seminar looks at some of the latest research on the sublethal effects of 2,4-D on amphibians and wildlife.

Technology is continually changing and GPS units are becoming part of our everyday life. GPS and weather stations can also play a big role in pest management and pesticide application. This web cast seminar looks at how pesticide applicators can use GPS and weather stations both in pest management and in pesticide applications.

It is part of every applicator's job to complete their pesticide applicator records when applying pesticides. Join Tim as he reviews what is required, how long they must be kept and ways you may be able to simplify them. Health Canada's Buffer Zone calculator is discussed and used to show applicators other tools available that may affect their applications near open bodies of water.

Pesticide resistance is increasing throughout the world. What can we do as applicators to prevent this or slow it down. The scope of resistance is discussed as well as definitions. The different types of resistance are discussed and applicators will realize they have a high level of control on some types of resistance and lower levels of control on others. Ways applicators can reduce pesticide resistance is presented.

The Presentations examine incidents that occurred resulting in significant human and animal health, environmental (eg. bee kills), property damage issues that could have been eliminated if the applicator had undertaken to provide notification to adjacent landowners and bystanders. Notification can be as simple as a 5minute call, an email with a factsheet on spraying etc. to ensure neighbors are aware that spraying is going to occur and to provide some simple steps they can take to eliminate an incident should drift or off-site movement of the pesticide occur.

This webinar looks at the importance of accurate measurement. From calculating area size for the pesticide application to accurate measurement of tank sizes and pesticide rates. One of the reasons for pesticide resistance can be improper applying chemicals at reduced rates without even being aware you are doing so. Sprayer tanks and measuring equipment need to be checked and rechecked to ensure proper rates are being applied. On the other side overapplication is expensive and wasteful. Join Tim as he shows you the problem and ways to do accurate measurement.

You must take part 1 before taking part 2 This session is designed to help you apply the fundamentals of weather (from part 1) to 10 common application situations that we all face, but that are so localized that no public forecast could possibly alert you to them. It is meant to help you understand the movement of air and to anticipate when that air movement may help you or hinder you in your efforts to get your treatment product through the air to your treatment target (and more importantly, ONLY your treatment target).

Reporting spills and adverse effects is a legislated requirement in Alberta and throughout Canada. This presentation will discuss what is meant by adverse effects, minimum reportable spills and adverse effects and what agency to report the spills to for the western provinces and Ontario. It will also discuss what will happen after a spill or adverse effect has been reported and the consequences of not reporting spills and adverse effects.

Some pesticides can last a long time in the environment. Join Tim as he defines and gives examples of half-life, bioaccumulation and biomagnification. As pesticide applicators we need to be aware of the properties of the pesticides we are using and know how they breakdown and move in the environment. If we know the environmental impact of certain pesticides, we then adjust our IPM programs accordingly.

As the world changes and communication and social media increase, the concept of a social license becomes very important. Social license is defined and examples are given. Social license applies to many aspects of society and pesticides is one that we must address. We as applicators need to communicate our IPM programs with the public so they realize that we are always using an IPM program when dealing with pests. Pesticides and pesticide application are under more and more scrutiny and we must understand what our social license is and how to improve it to ensure we have the opportunity to use pesticides in the future

This webinar discusses herbicide characteristics, soil types and environmental conditions that affect the leaching of herbicides. It focuses on herbicide solubility, persistence and adsorption and how these factors influence the leaching of herbicides. In addition, herbicide toxicity in water is discussed and its impact on aquatic life, terrestrial plants and human and animals.

This presentation reviews the re-evaluation status of glyphosate in Canada as conducted by Health Canada through the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA). It also includes the following, designation, studies and lawsuits and the implications for applicators: - the World Health Organization - International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) assignment of a hazard classification for glyphosate as "Probably carcinogenic to humans" - several studies reporting the presence of glyphosate in cereal products and in breast milk -lawsuits involving glyphosate causing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Lastly, the presentation summarizes the PMRA (and U.S.A. Environmental Protection Agency) evaluations of the potential hazards of the use of glyphosate for the applicator, bystanders and the environment.

Learning Objective Summary: Raise awareness of the emerging "Selective-Application" technology and the tremendous significance and influence that recent technological advances may exert on the entire industry. Specific Objectives/discussion topics

1. Background of Selective Application
   1. Define selective application
   2. Draw attention to distinction(s) between selective and non-selective application
   3. Introduce National Research Council research that identified the role that "market foresight" has played in the potential success of Alberta companies.
2. Give some historical context to selective application
3. Discuss technical, environmental, economic and social factors that favour selective application over general broadcast.
4. Discuss the factors that have historically limited the usefulness of selective application.
5. highlight the role that mechanization of selective application has traditionally played in solving meteorological challenges and public acceptance challenges
6. Introduce the three new game changers to Selective application
   1. Pulse Width Modulation nozzle technology
   2. Artificial Intelligence nozzle control technologies
   3. Internet-of-Things connectivity technologies
7. Discuss a brief technological overview of the significance of the above 3
8. Discuss a future vision for the blending of the above 3 "game-changers" with other new emerging vegetation control technologies (steam, microwave, and laser)
9. Discuss the implications of the "game-changers" at the level of
   1. Individual applicator and application services b. Crop protection industry as a whole
   2. Societal influence and macroeconomics
10. Brief discussion of the ethics of "cloud-based" technology of the "game-changers"
11. Revisit the N.R.C. research that shows the importance to Alberta Companies of Market Foresight" Evaluation: Eight True/False and Multiple-choice questions drawn from the above points.