INFLUENCE OF INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT ON PESTICIDE RESIDUES IN TOMATO PACKINGHOUSE WASTEWATER
Water analyses from all commercial tomato packinghouse dump tanks in South Carolina in 1989 revealed that heavy metals and pesticides accumulate in the dump tank water throughout the course of daily operation. The amount that accumulated varied widely as follows: esfenvalerate, 0.6 to 13.8 ppb; chlorothalonil, 0.1 to 2.85 ppm; copper, 2.0 to 7.3 ppm; manganese, 0.3 to 2.4 ppm. Contamination was lowest when growers were implementing integrated pest management (IPM) practices during production. In 1990, tomatoes were grown under the following pest management practices: IPM protocol; modified IPM with more frequent spray; or weekly pesticide application regardless of pest pressure. In a small scale dump tank study the water used for tomatoes on the weekly spray schedule had from 2 to 10 times the amount of pesticide and metal residues found in water used for tomatoes grown under IPM. These results confirm that IPM programs can be effective in reducing residues in tomato packinghouse wastewater.