Table 3. Pesticide residues on apples at harvest in IPM and Traditional blocks, 

 University of Massachusetts Horticultural Research Center, 1995. 



tolerance of benomyl = 7 ppm. 



''ND = nondetectable, limit of detection = 0.2 ppm. 



"Tolerance of propargite = 3 ppm. 



*StatisticaUy significant difference existed between IPM conventional at odds of 19 to 



1. 



applications were used in the IPM block based 

 on monitoring results, a lower rate was applied, 

 and resultant residues were lower statistically. 

 Such a low-dose strategy may represent a way 

 for the material to be used again in the future. 



Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ). 

 Although each of the measures described above 

 (i.e. numbers of sprays applied, dosage 

 equivalents applied, and harvest residues) 

 gives some information on potential reduction 

 in environmental and other pollution, the 

 actual measurement of such reductions is 

 another matter. In addition to the fact that 

 there is no agreement on the best techniques for 

 measuring environmental impacts of pesti- 

 cides, environmental testing of any sort is very 

 expensive and demands the utmost care in 

 sample collection and analysis. 



Partly in response to the need for some 

 measure of environmental impacts of agricul- 

 tural chemicals, Kovach and his colleagues at 

 Cornell University devised the Environmental 

 Impact Quotient (EIQ). The EIQ assigns 

 values to chemicals based on such parameters 



as mode of action (i.e., non-systemic, systemic); 

 toxicity to humans, bees, rabbits, birds, 

 beneficial arthropods, and fish; soil residue half 

 life; plant surface residue half life; and leaching 

 and runoff potential. Although the resultant 

 EIQ nvmabers have no meaning per se, they are 

 intended to provide growers and others with a 

 means to determine relative differences among 

 pesticides or pest-management strategies. 



It should be noted that a number of flaws in 

 the EIQ have been pointed out by Dushoff et al. 

 (1994) in the journal American Entomologist. 

 In addition to problems with scaling, weighting 

 of effects, and inert ingredients, those authors 

 point out that "...even benign substances are 

 given ... an EIQ of at least 6.7." By way of 

 illustrating an extreme example, "...if water 

 were considered a pesticide, it would have an 

 EIQ of 9.3. This means that 20 lbs per acre of 

 water would be considered worse than a 1 lb 

 application of parathion..." Of course, water is 

 not a pesticide. However, another example 

 using actual orchard pesticides can be seen in a 

 comparison of the EIQ Field Use Rating for 



Fruit Notes, Volume 62 (Number 2), Spring, 1997 



13 



