Welcome
Introduction
This tool was designed to assist golf course superintendents in understanding the environmental risk of a pesticide or group of pesticides labeled for use on golf courses. Many factors that are considered when selecting an appropriate pesticide including efficacy, cost and human safety are not included within the scope of this tool. The GERETP tools specifically focus on providing a general (tier 1) risk category for:
- Ground water – humans
- Surface Water – aquatic invertebrates, fish, and amphibians
- Terrestrial organisms – avian and beneficial invertebrates (as represented by earthworms).
The relative risk each pesticide presents for these three categories can be found on their label, but can be difficult or confusing to summarize. GERETP is not intended to rank or rate the value of any pesticide for a specific use, but hopes to provide a relative indication of the potential impact a pesticide may have on the three focused categories.
While the first response a user will see after an initial use of the system is a simple categorization of the potential risk, it is our hope that the system logic is truly transparent. There is always an opportunity to display the source of any values used to make a categorical determination. We encourage superintendents to explore these references for a greater understanding of how these specific risk was evaluated.
Most importantly, read and follow all label materials before using any pesticide. This tool was developed through the support of the Environmental Institute for Golf, United States Golf Association, Cornell University, Environmental & Turf Services, Inc. and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Participants
Stuart Cohen , Juleen Lam, and Qingli Ma
Environmental & Turf Services, Inc., Wheaton, MD
Jennifer Grant and A. Martin Petrovic
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Bruce Branham, Tom Fermanian, and Tom Voigt
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL
Clark Throssell, Project Manager
Golf Course Superintendents Assoc. of America
Michael Kenna, Research Director
United States Golf Association Green Section
