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San Diego

Have any growers ever had their plants affected by a neighbor who is down wind that sprayed any kind of chemical? I think I have heard about this, whether it's weed killer, or ant killer, etc. My neighbor who is south west of my house one house down across the street, had a professional guy spraying around his house a big jet stream of something, two days later I notice one of my secondaries has a phyto-burn look on the new leaves (this secondary was closest to the prevailing wind), the rest of the plant has leaves with no phyto-burn, but they look just a little like a tiny pesticide burn look, but over all normal and healthy. Then today my neighbor is out in his front yard spraying weed killer again! aaahhhh! I hate people who just spray everything and never think of it going into their neighbors yards. Any comments or experiences from anyone else?:) Jimmy

6/30/2004 3:16:45 PM

[email protected]

I lost my 723 Bobier in 2001 because my neighbor sprayed 2 4 D all over his lawn. It is disguised in so many products today , Weed B Gon, Agway Broadleaf weed killer, Most stage 2 bags of lawn maintenance, etc. Sadly, unless you have to worlds greatest neighbors, you are at thier mercy. 2 4 D will devestate your patch, nothing you can do about it. The product is applied, and it doesnt have to be direct. When the dew in the morning evaporates, it takes the 2 4 D with it, and travels wherever the wind takes it. Free ride, so to speak. It can affect any broad leaf vegetation within a 1/2 mile at times.

If you live in a residential area, you are rolling the dice, especially in todays chemically based world of weed prevention and elimination. Best of luck to you, I have my next door meighbor trained now, but it is the ones up the street that worry me.

6/30/2004 4:23:09 PM

Massillon, Ohio

definitely ruined my whole season

6/30/2004 4:54:15 PM

[email protected]

Granular weed & feed that I sold by the trailer load to the local garden center. My neighbor bought a bag & applied it to his front yard 150 feet away from my patch. Yet I'm still seeing possible signs of 2,4-D damage. Plants are growing again, but sure look odd.

6/30/2004 6:42:25 PM

San Diego

Since I have slight damage on my plant from someone spraying, do you think it will affect my pumpkin growth at all or does it not do much? My plant is around 6 feet long on the main, so I have another 2 weeks or so before my first polinations. My leaves look a little damaged, but not terrible. It might take awhile to grow out of the symptoms 100%, neew growth is still a little damaged, but not too bad. No phyto-looking burn:) Hope no one sprays anymore! heheheh I'm gonna talk to my neighbor, see what happens.

6/30/2004 7:34:09 PM

Okla

If I am not mistaken ANYONE who sprays any kind of chemical is subject to State and Federal Laws and Guidelines and "can be held accountable for any type of chemical they spray whether commercial or private residence"!! That is why they have these type Laws in place is to prevent anyone from being effected. In Oklahoma any Commercial Applicator can NOT use any type of 2-4D products because of what it will do.
Tremor is that how you interpret the Chemical Laws in your State also? I know Laws are different for every State but Federal Laws should be the same everywhere.
Thomas

6/30/2004 8:13:20 PM

Liverpool , England

Sue them for every penny they got...ruined ya health...ya season...ya nerves are shot...kids getting sick...ya know the score

6/30/2004 9:24:20 PM

[email protected]

Thomas,

On every pesticide label is the following statement:

"It is a violation of Federal law to use this product in a manner that is inconsistent with it's labeling."

So this goes beyond State pesticide law. It's a federal matter that can also be persued & is usually enforced at the State level. Sttes can put more teeth into the bite. But they cannot disregard or lessen the impact of the Federal laws.

But omne has to first make the written complaint. Then prove the event took place. To do this involves sworn eye witness testimony &/or photos or video tape of the event.

In our case here, I could have my "secret lab" run a phenoxy herbicide screen specifically for 2,4-D. Each item tested for cost $175 the last time I did this about 10 years ago. The lab then reports a "Yes" or "No" test result on letterhead which is submissable in court.

You then also have to claim & substantiate financial losses so the court can issue an award assuming you prove your case & the judge moves to allow restitution.

Oh. Then you have to move far away so the neighbor doesn't know where to find you. LOL

Not worth the effort in my book. I've already announced that I'll be treating Arthur's lawn for weeds myself come fall when it will work much better anyway. After I harvest of course.

6/30/2004 9:26:28 PM

Massillon, Ohio

to reply to "do you think it will affect my pumpkin growth at all or does it not do much? "... i dont know how bad your damage is but here is my story...(maybe this will warn others too to keep an eye on neighbors (sometimes they lie about it too like what happened to me: they said, "we didnt spray 2-4-d"...i said, "oh yeah then why are your grape leaves shriveled and showing damage"...they said later, "well oh yeah we did". and they are related to me!!! LOL).

not to be negative and a doom-sayer, but tom beachy saw my pics last year and diagnosed my problem. then told me that plants never recover from 2-4-d damage. i was like, "No way, i sure hope i can prove that dude wrong" and was convinced they'd recover. the foliage did recover, even convincing me more i was on my way. i set fruit, difficultly (lots of aborting), then doom. they always stopped growing by day 20... i had 8 plants and didnt even get ONE fruit to grow to maturity. like having a huge storm ruin your season but worse because you are still out there burying vines and babing them just to watch them fail you everytime.

6/30/2004 11:13:17 PM

San Diego

I posted a pic of my plant in my diary, it's hard to see the damage on the leaves, it's there but not real easy to see in a pic. email me if you have any comments, thanks, Jimmy

7/1/2004 12:56:18 AM

Cologne / Germany

Why is a product like 2-4-d allowed at all??

7/1/2004 6:56:32 AM

[email protected]

2,4-D is allowed because people have just as much right to a weed free lawn as we have to grow Giant Pumpkins. But we can hold a person liable for their actions if they affect us.

Christy,

Is this the picture to which we speak?

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=11201

Duster,

I don't see the diary pic yet.

Steve

7/1/2004 7:53:34 AM

Vermont Green MTN State

Steve,
Can we bury craked vines like this? Or just the cracked spot?
Doeski

7/1/2004 10:13:41 AM

Massillon, Ohio

yes tremor, that is the one. the foliage totally recovered and the plant spread out just as normal. each plant was visually damaged at different levels, but no plants produced anything. i did have signs of disease on roots in the patch..but nick is convinced it was the 2-4-d that messed with the plant / fruit growth; not the disease. he had more disease in his patch than i had in mine and he got pumpkins off EVERY plant of his (one plant of his had disease so bad the stump was basically not attached to ground). my stumps were in solid. we have investigated every possibility under the sun and come to one and one conclusion...that wicked chemical.

7/1/2004 10:51:45 AM

Massillon, Ohio

duster, in my opinion, your picture looks nothing like 2-4-d from the view i saw. small, deformed, thickened leaves that dont even have a shape of a normal leaf is more like it.

7/1/2004 10:54:19 AM

San Diego

I looked at the diary pic you posted baseball, it doesn't look anything like mine. My leaves are normal shape, get normal size. The color just looks a little off, like a light pesticide burn or something similar. I'm guessing my neighbor sprayed for ants, so hoping the 2-d-t or whatever it is wasn't in it. Jimmy

7/1/2004 12:19:18 PM

San Diego

I talked with my neighbor, it was ant spray, so none of the really bad stuff was in it. He says it's mainly made up of malathion, not sure if I spelled it right. Can malathion give ag's leaf burn on new foliage if it drifts in the wind to my patch? That's my best guess at what it is. I think he has his house sprayed once a month with it, kind of sucks, but what can you do? Not much. Jimmy

7/1/2004 2:22:52 PM

Wood River, Nebraska

I now do all my neighbors fall herbicide application. I lost a third of the total leaf surface of one plant to spray drift last year and still managed a 538 pounder from it.
dave

7/1/2004 4:36:21 PM