Mitigation Menu
Date of last update: April 30, 2025
- How do I know if Runoff/Erosion Mitigation is Required?
- Runoff/Erosion Mitigation Options
- How do I know if Ecological Spray Drift Buffers Are Required?
- Ecological Spray Drift Buffer Reduction Options
How do I know if Runoff/Erosion Mitigation is Required?
Pesticide users will need to plan their pesticide applications in advance to determine whether they are subject to runoff/erosion mitigation. These mitigation requirements will appear on product labels and/or Bulletins for the product in the Bulletins Live! Two System. If a label directs users to check Bulletins, they must do so to determine if additional mitigation requirements apply to their farm/field(s), beyond the requirements that appear on the label.
Pesticide applicators need to follow the steps below to determine which runoff/erosion mitigation measures to consider and employ before using a pesticide for their operation each year.
Step 1: Plan for the Growing Season/Year
At the field or farm level, what crops are being grown and what pesticide products are expected to be used throughout the entire growing season/year?
Step 2: Identify Runoff/Erosion Points to Achieve
Of these pesticide products, do any product labels or bulletins specify that runoff/erosion mitigation points need to be achieved?
If yes, move to Step 3. If no, no additional runoff/erosion mitigation needed. Follow any additional restrictions defined on the label or in Bulletins Live! Two.
Step 3: Determine Which Applications need to Achieve Points
Evaluate the farm/field(s) being treated. You do not have to implement any additional runoff/erosion measures for an application if the answer is “yes” to any one of the following questions:
- Does the treated farm/field have a perimeter berm system (permanent berms, elevated border/perimeter) present at the time of application and throughout the cropping season?
- Is there an irrigation tailwater return system in place?
- Does the treated farm/field have subsurface or tile drains installed with a water control structure and controlled outlet?
- Is the application occurring as a soil injection?
- Is the application occurring as a tree injection?
- Is the application occurring via chemigation applied subsurface or under impermeable plastic mulch?
- Is the application occurring as a spot treatment (<1,000 square feet being treated), e.g., backpack, handheld, or specialized application equipment?
- Is the treated farm/field less than 1/10th of an acre?
- Are the areas within 1,000 ft down-gradient from the treated farm/field comprised entirely of managed areas?
Managed areas include:- Agricultural fields, pastures, forage fields, and private rangelands, including untreated portions of the treated field;
- Roads, paved or gravel surfaces, mowed grassy/fallowed areas adjacent to field, and areas of bare ground from recent plowing or grading that are contiguous with the treated area;
- Buildings and their perimeters, silos, or other man-made structures with walls and/or roof;
- Areas present and/or maintained as a runoff/erosion measure as listed on EPA’s Mitigation Menu website. Examples include vegetative filter strips (VFS), field borders, grassed waterways, vegetated ditches, riparian areas, managed/constructed wetlands, or other areas of intentional habitat improvement;
- Areas present and/or maintained as a drift buffer reduction measure as listed on EPA’s Mitigation Menu website. Examples include vegetative windbreaks, hedgerows, shelterbelts, riparian areas, private forests, woodlots, and shrublands;
- Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) lands (applicators may need to ensure that pesticide use does not cause degradation of the CRP habitat).
- On-farm contained irrigation water resources that are not connected to adjacent water bodies, including on-farm irrigation canals and ditches, water conveyances, managed irrigation/runoff retention basins, farm ponds, and tailwater collection ponds.
If you answered no to ALL of the above, move to Step 4. If you answered yes to ANY of the above, no additional runoff/erosion mitigation needed. Follow any additional restrictions defined on the label or in Bulletins Live! Two.
Step 4: Identify the Maximum Points Needed
Determine which product being used throughout the crop cycle/year requires the highest number of mitigation points. This is the starting point that defines the maximum number of points you will need. In Step 5, you will determine the extent to which your location, field characteristics, and existing practices reduce or eliminate the need for any additional runoff mitigations.
Step 5: Subtract Points for Existing Mitigation Measures
Identify the total (sum) number of points assigned for mitigation relief based on your location and field characteristics and the number of points assigned to mitigation measures that already apply to the field/farm by visiting the mitigation menu (Tables 1 and 2 below). Subtract the total number of points assigned for mitigation relief and existing measures from the number of points identified in Step 4.
For each measure, click on the associated link to see the minimum specifications needed to subtract the associated points in the mitigation menu.
Are 1 or more runoff/erosion points still needed?
If yes, move to Step 6. If no, no additional runoff/erosion mitigation needed. Follow any additional restrictions defined on the label or in Bulletins Live! Two.
The Crosswalk of EPA's Ecological Mitigation Measures with USDA NRCS Conservation Practices in Support of EPA's Endangered Species Strategies version 1.2 (pdf) provides information on how voluntary participation in NRCS and other conservation programs can help achieve runoff/erosion mitigation points.
Step 6: Select Additional Mitigation Measures to Implement
Visit the mitigation menu to determine what measures are available for you to choose to fulfill the needed runoff/erosion requirements. For each measure, click on the associated link to see the minimum specifications needed to successfully implement that measure.
- The Crosswalk of EPA's Ecological Mitigation Measures with USDA NRCS Conservation Practices in Support of EPA's Endangered Species Strategies version 1.2 (pdf) provides information on how voluntary participation in NRCS and other conservation programs can help achieve runoff/erosion mitigation points.
Step 7: Ensure Adherence to Most Restrictive Label/Bulletin Mitigation
Now that the runoff/erosion point requirement has been achieved, check to ensure that any restrictions described on the labels/bulletins that are more restrictive than the runoff/erosion measures listed on this website are followed. Examples include use prohibitions, timing restrictions, application method prohibitions, and sandy soil application restrictions.
Also ensure that people are not present within the application exclusion zone during the application, and they will not be contacted by the pesticide, either directly or through drift (see Worker Protection Standard requirements at 40 CFR 170.405(a) and 40 CFR 170.505(a)).
Follow any additional restrictions defined on the label or in Bulletins Live! Two.
As EPA receives new information on mitigation measures and their efficacy, the Agency will update this Mitigation Menu Website to include additional or updated mitigation options and descriptions. EPA intends to update this website annually in the fall so pesticide users can prepare for the next growing season.
Runoff/Erosion Mitigation Options
You may use the measures in Tables 1 and 2 unless you see more restrictive limitations on individual labels or bulletins. If you use these tables, you may select any combination of measures in the tables to achieve the minimum points required by the label or bulletin.
The Spray Drift and Runoff Mitigation Calculator (xlsm) and Mitigation Calculator User Guide (pdf) can help you calculate the number of points earned for practices already in place on the field. The
Runoff Mitigation worksheet April 2025 v2 (pdf) can also be printed out and used as an alternative to the runoff points calculator.
To further help farmers or other pesticide users consider their options and understand how their current practices, location, and field properties relate to mitigation points, EPA is developing a mobile-friendly application (i.e., App). EPA is developing a plan at the time this webpage update is released and expects to release the first phase/version of the application in 2025. EPA looks forward to continuing to work with interested stakeholders to improve both the App and other available tools that help communicate how to comply with mitigation requirements as they begin to appear on pesticide labels.
Click here for a PDF version Mitigation Menu Runoff Tables (pdf)
| Mitigation Relief | Pesticide Runoff Vulnerability and Field Characteristics | Points |
|---|---|---|
|
County-based mitigation relief [see runoff vulnerability map by county and County list (pdf)] Select one option |
Pesticide runoff vulnerability - very low | 6 |
| Pesticide runoff vulnerability – low | 3 | |
| Pesticide runoff vulnerability - medium | 2 | |
| Pesticide runoff vulnerability – high | 0 | |
| Field slope | Field slope ≤3% (naturally low slope or flat fields; flat laser leveled fields) | 2 |
| Predominantly sandy soils
This option can only be used if the product label does not prohibit application on sandy soils |
Fields with 10-20% clay and 50-90% sand (includes loam, silt loam, or silt soil) without a restrictive layer that impedes the movement of water through the soil (also described as Hydrologic Soil Group B) | 2 |
| Fields with ≤10% clay and ≥90% sand (includes sand, loamy sand, or sandy loam soil) without a restrictive layer that impedes the movement of water through the soil (also described as Hydrologic Soil Group A) | 3 | |
| Mitigation tracking | Documented at the field or farm level, using paper or electronic format | 1 |
|
Working with and following recommendations from a technical specialist OR Participating in a conservation program (non-qualified) Select one; points are not additive for doing both |
The technical specialist must meet the following characteristics:
|
1 |
The conservation program must meet the following characteristics:
Conservation programs will be 2 points until they have been designated by EPA as an EPA-Qualified Conservation Program. |
2 | |
|
The conservation program must meet the characteristics described above and meet the maximum of 9 points. Additionally:
The rationale and additional characteristics that are necessary to support designation as an EPA-Qualified Conservation Program are described in more detail in the Final Insecticide Strategy and Ecological Mitigation Support Document V.2 1. (pdf) |
9 | |
| EPA’s first designated “EPA-Qualified Conservation Program”
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), when incorporating NRCS Conservation Program Standard (CPS) 595 Pest Management Conservation System with the “Additional Criteria” for water quality in the development of the conservation plan, and implements the recommended practices identified in the conservation plan before or at the time of pesticide application |
9 |
| Mitigation | Qualifying Practices | Points |
|---|---|---|
|
Application parameters
|
||
|
Annual application rate reduction Select one option |
Any application 10% to ˂30% less than the maximum labeled annual application rate | 1 |
| Any application 30% to ˂60% less than the maximum labeled annual application rate | 2 | |
| Any application ≥60% less than the maximum labeled annual application rate | 3 | |
| Anionic Polyacrylamide (PAM) | Application of water-soluble formulations of anionic PAM | 2 |
|
Reduction in the proportion of field treated (banded application, partial field treatment, ground precision sprayer, smart sprayer, or other specialized method) Select one option |
Portion of field not treated: 10 to ˂30% | 2 |
| Portion of field not treated: 30 to ˂60% | 3 | |
| Portion of field not treated: ≥60% | 4 | |
| Soil incorporation | Watering-in or mechanical incorporation before a runoff producing event. A runoff producing event is considered as follows:
|
1 |
|
In-field mitigation measures
|
||
|
Select one option |
No-till, including perennial crops (e.g., orchards that are not tilled) | 3 |
| Reduced tillage, strip tillage, ridge tillage, mulch tillage | 2 | |
| Reservoir tillage | Reservoir tillage, furrow diking, basin tillage | 3 |
| Contour farming | Contour farming, contour tillage, contour orchard and perennial crops | 2 |
| Vegetative Strips - In-Field | Inter-row vegetated strips, strip cropping or intercropping, alley cropping, prairie strips, contour buffer strips, contour strip cropping, vegetative barrier (occurring in a contoured field) | 2 |
| Terrace farming | Terrace farming, terracing, field terracing | 2 |
|
Cover crop or continuous ground cover Select one option |
Cover crop or continuous ground cover; with tillage | 1 |
| Cover crop or continuous ground cover; no tillage; short-term cover crop | 2 | |
| Cover crop or continuous ground cover; no tillage; long-term cover crop | 3 | |
|
Select one option |
Use of soil moisture sensors/evapotranspiration meters with center pivots & sprinklers; above ground drip tape, drip emitters; micro-sprinklers
General irrigation management |
2 |
| Use of below tarp irrigation, below ground drip tape; dry farming, non-irrigated lands
No irrigation |
3 | |
|
Select one option |
Mulching with permeable artificial materials (i.e., landscape fabrics, synthetic mulches) | 1 |
| Mulching with natural materials | 3 | |
| Erosion barriers | Wattles, silt fences | 2 |
|
Field-adjacent mitigation measures
|
||
| Grassed waterway | Grassed waterway | 2 |
|
Vegetative filter strips (VFS) or field border adjacent to field Select one option |
20 to 30 ft wide | 1 |
| 30 to <60 ft wide | 2 | |
| ≥60 ft wide | 3 | |
| Vegetated ditch | Vegetated ditch | 1 |
|
Riparian area; riparian forest buffer; riparian herbaceous cover Select one option |
20 to <30 ft | 1 |
| 30 to <60 ft | 2 | |
| ≥60 ft | 3 | |
| Constructed and natural wetlands | Constructed and natural wetlands, wetland and riparian landscape/habitat improvement | 3 |
|
Terrestrial habitat landscape improvement (i.e., critical area planting, cross wind trap strips, hedgerow planting, herbaceous wind barriers, windbreak-shelterbelt establishment and renovation, tree shrub planting, forest stand improvement, upland wildlife habitat management) Select one option |
20 to <30 ft | 1 |
| 30 to <60 ft | 2 | |
| ≥60 ft | 3 | |
|
Select one option |
Filters, sleeves, socks, or filtration units containing activated carbon | 3 |
| Filters, sleeves, socks, or filtration units containing compost amendments | 1 | |
|
Systems that capture runoff and discharge
|
||
| Water retention systems | Sediment basins, catch basins, sediment traps, water retention ponds | 2 |
| Subsurface drainages and tile drainage installed without controlled drainage structure | Subsurface tile drains, tile drains without controlled drainage structure | 1 |
| Using mitigation measures from multiple categories | Practices must be used from at least 2 of the following categories: in-field, field-adjacent, or systems that capture runoff and discharge
Examples: |
1 |
How do I know if Ecological Spray Drift Buffers are Required?
Pesticide applicators need to follow the steps below to determine whether ecological drift buffer reduction options on this website can be employed during the application. The buffer reduction options do not apply to areas occupied by humans for residential or commercial purposes (such as lawns, sidewalks, outdoor recreational areas, athletic fields, buildings/homes, farmworker housing, schools, daycare centers, nursing homes, and hospitals). If your label does not allow for spray drift reductions or does not direct you to the mitigation menu website, you cannot use the drift reduction options.
These buffer reduction options do not apply to the following managed areas, as these areas can be included in the buffer if they are immediately adjacent/contiguous to the treated field in the downwind direction and people are not present in those areas (including inside closed buildings/structures):
- Agricultural fields, pastures, forage fields, and private rangelands, including untreated portions of the treated field;
- Roads, paved or gravel surfaces, mowed grassy/fallowed areas adjacent to field, and areas of bare ground from recent plowing or grading that are contiguous with the treated area;
- Buildings and their perimeters, silos, or other man-made structures with walls and/or roof;
- Areas present and/or maintained as a runoff/erosion measure as listed on EPA’s Mitigation Menu website. Examples include vegetative filter strips (VFS), field borders, grassed waterways, vegetated ditches, riparian areas, managed/constructed wetlands, or other areas of intentional habitat improvement;
- Areas present and/or maintained as a drift buffer reduction measure as listed on EPA’s Mitigation Menu website. Examples include vegetative windbreaks, hedgerows, shelterbelts, riparian areas, private forests, woodlots, and shrublands;
- Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) lands (applicators may need to ensure that pesticide use does not cause degradation of the CRP habitat).
- On-farm contained irrigation water resources that are not connected to adjacent water bodies, including on-farm irrigation canals and ditches, water conveyances, managed irrigation/runoff retention basins, farm ponds, and tailwater collection ponds.
Step 1: Plan for the Growing Season/Year
At the field or farm level, what crops are being grown and what pesticides are expected to be used throughout the entire growing season/year? What sort of spray application equipment and/or spray services are anticipated?
Step 2: Identify Drift Buffers Eligible for Buffer Reduction Options
Of these pesticides, do any product labels or bulletins specify that an ecological spray drift buffer is required AND references EPA’s Mitigation Menu website to identify ecological drift buffer reduction options?
If yes, move to Step 3. If no, no additional ecological spray drift mitigation needed. Follow any additional directions defined on the label or in Bulletins Live! Two.
Step 3: Determine Which Applications need Ecological Drift Buffers
You do not need an ecological spray drift buffer if the answer is “yes” to any one of the following questions:
- Is the product applied as a solid (e.g., the planting of treated seed or use of a treated propagule, or granular formulation)?
- Is the application occurring as an in-furrow spray where the nozzle height is ≤8 inches above the soil surface?
- Is the application occurring as a soil injection or soil drench?
- Is the application occurring as a tree injection, tree trunk/basal drench, or tree trunk paint?
- Is the application occurring via chemigation that uses one of the following methods: micro-sprinklers, drip-tape, drip emitters, subsurface or flood, or made under non-permeable plastic surfaces?
- Is the application occurring as a spot treatment (<1,000 square feet being treated), e.g., backpack, handheld, or specialized application equipment?
- Is the treated farm/field less than 1/10th of an acre?
- Are the areas within 1,000 feet down-wind from the treated farm/field comprised entirely of managed areas?
Managed areas include:- Agricultural fields, pastures, forage fields, and private rangelands, including untreated portions of the treated field;
- Roads, paved or gravel surfaces, mowed grassy/fallowed areas adjacent to field, and areas of bare ground from recent plowing or grading that are contiguous with the treated area;
- Buildings and their perimeters, silos, or other man-made structures with walls and/or roof;
- Areas present and/or maintained as a runoff/erosion measure as listed on EPA’s Mitigation Menu website. Examples include vegetative filter strips (VFS), field borders, grassed waterways, vegetated ditches, riparian areas, managed/constructed wetlands, or other areas of intentional habitat improvement;
- Areas present and/or maintained as a drift buffer reduction measure as listed on EPA’s Mitigation Menu website. Examples include vegetative windbreaks, hedgerows, shelterbelts, riparian areas, private forests, woodlots, and shrublands;
- Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) lands (applicators may need to ensure that pesticide use does not cause degradation of the CRP habitat).
- On-farm contained irrigation water resources that are not connected to adjacent water bodies, including on-farm irrigation canals and ditches, water conveyances, managed irrigation/runoff retention basins, farm ponds, and tailwater collection ponds.
If no, move to Step 4. If yes, no additional ecological spray drift mitigation needed. Follow any additional restrictions defined on the label or in Bulletins Live! Two.
Step 4: Identify the Maximum Ecological Drift Buffer Needed
Determine which product being used in the application has the largest spray drift buffer requirements (given the same droplet size and release height) for the treatment area. Ensure any spray drift buffer distance being implemented equals or exceeds the greatest distance noted in labels/bulletins. This is the starting buffer distance. Drift reducing measures as well as presence of managed lands downwind of applications can be used to reduce size of any required buffer distances (Steps 5 and 6).
Note: The buffer reduction options in Steps 5 and 6 must only be used for ecological spray drift buffers specified on the product’s label or bulletin that also include directions to use EPA’s Mitigation Menu website to select buffer reduction options. Otherwise, the pesticide applicator must employ the drift buffer distance as specified on the label or bulletin.
Step 5: Subtract Distance to “Managed Areas”
From the down-wind edge of the application site, subtract the total distance of “managed area” from the maximum spray drift buffer identified in Step 4. Is the remaining buffer ≥ 10 feet?
If yes, move to Step 6. If no, no additional ecological spray drift mitigation needed. Follow any additional restrictions defined on the label or in Bulletins Live, Two!
Step 6: Select Additional Buffer Reduction Options
Select buffer reduction options from Tables 1, 2, or 3 below. All options must be selected in accordance with the minimum droplet size (or greater), the maximum (or lower) release height, and the maximum (or lower) wind speed required on the product label.
For each option in the tables below, click on the associated link to see the minimum specifications needed to successfully implement that buffer reduction option.
For the buffer reduction options selected and employed for the application:
- Add the percent buffer reduction associated with all of the options you are using;
- Multiply the total percentage by the buffer distance calculated in Step 5 (e.g., 50% x 50 feet = 25 feet); and
- Subtract the resulting distance from the buffer distance calculated in Step 5 and round up to the nearest 5-foot increment.
Is this distance < 10 feet?
If no, move to Step 7. If yes, no additional ecological spray drift mitigation needed. Follow any additional restrictions defined on the label or in Bulletins Live, Two!
Step 7: Employ the Down-wind Ecological Drift Buffer
The distance calculated in Step 6 is the down-wind ecological drift buffer you must employ during the application.
Step 8: Ensure Adherence to Most Restrictive Label/Bulletin Mitigation
If a pesticide product label or bulletin, or the state or local government in which the application area is located has a requirement that prohibits or restricts spray drift in any area, including the managed areas described in Step 3, that prohibition/restriction must be followed.
Examples of more restrictive drift mitigation include, but are not limited to, no-drift standards, drift buffers that are not wind-directional, Application Exclusion Zone requirements, drift buffers to residential/commercial areas, use prohibitions, timing restrictions, and application method prohibitions.
Follow any additional restrictions defined on the label or in Bulletins Live! Two.
Ecological Spray Drift Buffer Reduction Options
You may use the buffer reduction options in Tables 3, 4, and 5 for wind-directional ecological spray drift buffers unless you see more restrictive limitations on individual labels or bulletins. If you use these tables and the label/bulletin requires an ecological drift buffer between >25 and 400 feet, you may add the percentages for each qualifying practice used for the application to reduce the buffer. After determining your total % reduction in the buffer distance, determine the distance reduced in feet, subtract that distance from the buffer distance required on the label, then round to the nearest 5-foot increment for your final buffer distance.
No ecological drift buffer is required if:
- use of the buffer reduction options results in a buffer reduction ≥100%.
- use of the buffer reduction options results in a buffer <10 feet, after rounding to the nearest 5 ft increment
EPA’s Spray Drift and Runoff Mitigation Calculator (xlsm) and Spray Drift Calculator User Guide (pdf) can help you calculate the buffer reduction for your application. The Spray Drift Mitigation Worksheet April 2025 v2.pdf (pdf) can also be printed out and used as an alternative to the spray drift calculator.
To further help farmers or other pesticide users consider their options and understand how their current practices, location, and field properties relate to ecological spray drift buffer reduction options, EPA is developing a mobile-friendly application (i.e., App). EPA is developing a plan at the time this webpage update is released and expects to release the first phase/version of the application in 2025. EPA looks forward to continuing to work with interested stakeholders to improve both the App and other available tools that help communicate how to comply with mitigation requirements as they begin to appear on pesticide labels.
Click here for a PDF version of the drift buffer Mitigation Menu Drift Tables (pdf) .
Click the links below for quick access to your application method and droplet size:
Table 3: Groundboom Application
- With a fine droplet and high boom
- With a fine droplet and low boom
- With a medium droplet and high boom
- With a medium droplet and low boom
- With a coarse or coarser droplet and high boom
- With a coarse or coarser droplet and low boom
Table 4: Aerial Application
Table 5: Airblast application (all droplet sizes and release heights)
| Option | Qualifying Practice | Reduction in Buffer Distance |
|---|---|---|
|
Options available for all droplet sizes and release heights |
||
| Reduce maximum single application rate | Reduce the maximum single application rate by X%
Be mindful of resistance management concerns in your area when using this option |
X% |
|
Reduce number of passes (applies to upwind part of the treated field) Select one option |
Field border application/1 pass (or 1/10 acre to 1 acre) or < 1.5 acre | 75% |
| 2-4 Passes (or >1 acre to 4 acres) | 35% | |
| 5-10 Passes (or 4 acres to 10 acres) | 15% | |
|
Select one option |
Basic windbreak/hedgerow/artificial screen | 50% |
| Advanced windbreak/hedgerow/artificial screen | 75% | |
| Riparian/forests/woodlots/shrubland > 60-foot width | 100% | |
|
Use of directed sprayer equipment Select one option |
Over-the-top Hooded Sprayer | 50% |
| Row-middle Hooded Sprayer | 75% | |
| Sprays below crop canopy using drop nozzles or layby applications
(difference between the crop height and release height is ≥ 1 ft, and that there are more than 4 consecutive rows of crop on the field that meet this parameter) |
50% | |
|
Options available for fine droplets and high boom (>2 feet above the ground or crop canopy) Select one option below |
||
|
Increase droplet size |
Use medium or coarser droplets in accordance with ASABE s572 | 75% |
| Use coarse or coarser droplets in accordance with ASABE s572 | 85% | |
| Lower boom height | Lower boom height to 2 feet or less above the ground or crop canopy | 50% |
|
Lower boom height AND increase droplet size |
|
75% |
|
85% | |
|
Increase droplet size AND use drift reducing agent |
|
75%+30% = 100% |
|
85%+15% = 100% | |
|
Lower boom height, increase droplet size, AND use drift reducing agent |
|
75%+30% = 100+% |
|
85%+15% = 100% | |
|
Options available for medium droplets and high boom (>2 feet above the ground or crop canopy) Select one option below |
||
| Increase droplet size | Use a coarse or coarser droplet in accordance with ASABE s572 | 40% |
| Use drift reducing agent for herbicides only | Use an oil emulsion drift reducing adjuvant that constitutes 2.5% of the volume of the finished spray tank mix. | 100% |
| Use drift reducing agent and increase droplet size |
|
100% |
| Lower boom height and increase droplet size |
|
40% |
| Use drift reducing agent and lower boom height |
|
100% |
| Lower boom height, increase droplet size, AND use drift reducing agent |
|
100% |
|
Options available for coarse droplets and high boom (>2 feet above the ground or crop canopy) Select one option below |
||
| Use drift reducing agent for herbicides only | Use oil emulsion drift reducing adjuvant that constitutes 2.5% of the volume of the finished spray tank mix. | 100% |
| Lower boom height AND use drift reducing agent |
|
100% |
|
Options available for fine droplets and low boom (2 feet or less above the ground or crop canopy) Select one option below |
||
|
Increase droplet size |
Use medium or coarser droplets in accordance with ASABE s572 | 50% |
| Use coarse or coarser droplet in accordance with ASABE s572. | 70% | |
|
Increase droplet size AND use drift reducing agent |
|
100% |
|
100% | |
|
Options available for medium droplets and low boom (2 feet or less above the ground or crop canopy) Select one option below |
||
| Increase droplet size | Use a coarse or coarser droplet in accordance with ASABE s572 | 40% |
| Use drift reducing agent for herbicides only | Use an oil emulsion drift reducing adjuvant that constitutes 2.5% of the volume of the finished spray tank mix. | 100% |
| Use drift reducing agent AND increase droplet size. |
|
100% |
|
Options available for coarse droplets and low boom (2 feet or less above the ground or crop canopy) Select one option below |
||
| Use drift reducing agent for herbicides only | Use an oil emulsion drift reducing adjuvant that constitutes 2.5% of the volume of the finished spray tank mix. | 100% |
| Option | Qualifying Practice | Reduction in Buffer Distance |
|---|---|---|
|
Options available for all droplet sizes |
||
| Reduced single application rate | Reduce the rate applied by X% from the maximum single application rate specified on the product label.
Be mindful of resistance management concerns in your area when using this option. |
X% |
|
Reduced Proportion of Field Treated (# of Airplane/Helicopter passes) The reduced number of passes applies to the upwind part of the treated field Select one option |
1 Pass (or ≤1.5 acres) | 55% |
| 2-4 Passes (or 1.5 to 6 acres) | 20% | |
| 5-8 Passes (or 6 to 12 acres)
>8 Passes (or > 12 acres) |
10% | |
|
Artificial windbreaks (e.g., a curtain or netting) are also applicable Select one option |
Basic windbreak/hedgerow/shelterbelt | 50% |
| Advanced windbreak/hedgerow/shelterbelt | 75% | |
| Riparian/forests/woodlots/shrubland > 60-foot width | 100% | |
| Relative Humidity | >60% at time of application | 10% |
| Boom length is 50% of wingspan, and the average sustained wind speed is 3-10 mph | 65% | |
| Boom length is 50% of wingspan, and the average sustained wind speed is 10-15 mph | 50% | |
|
Options available for labels requiring a minimum droplet size of medium Select one option below |
||
| Use drift reducing adjuvant for herbicides only | Use an oil emulsion drift reducing adjuvant that constitutes 2.5% of the volume of the finished spray tank mix. | 30% |
|
Increase droplet size |
Use coarse or coarser droplets in accordance with ASABE s572 | 40% |
| Use very coarse or coarser droplet in accordance with ASABE s572 | 60% | |
|
40%+15% = 55% | |
|
60%+15% = 75% | |
|
Options available for labels requiring a minimum droplet size of coarse Select one option below |
||
| Use drift reducing adjuvant for herbicides only | Use an oil emulsion drift reducing adjuvant that constitutes 2.5% of the volume of the finished spray tank mix. | 15% |
| Increase droplet size | Use very coarse or coarser droplet in accordance with ASABE s572 | 20% |
| Increase droplet size AND use drift reducing adjuvant |
|
20%+15% = 35% |
|
Option available for labels requiring a minimum droplet size of very coarse or coarser |
||
| Use drift reducing adjuvant for herbicides only | Use an oil emulsion drift reducing adjuvant that constitutes 2.5% of the volume of the finished spray tank mix. | 15% |
| Option | Qualifying Practice | Reduction in Buffer Distance |
|---|---|---|
|
Options available for all droplet sizes and release heights |
||
| Reduce single rate | Reduce maximum single application rate | Divide % reduction in application rate by 2 (e.g., 50% reduction in application rate corresponds to 25% reduction in buffer size) |
| Reduce single rate and use targeted application equipment |
|
% reduction is reduction in buffer (e.g., 50% reduction in application rate corresponds to 50% reduction in buffer size) |
| Targeting application |
|
10% |
|
Reduce proportion of orchard/vineyard treated (number of treated rows) The reduced number of treated rows applies to the upwind part of the treated field. Select one option |
1 row treated | 70% |
| 2-4 rows treated | 30% | |
| 5-10 rows treated | 15% | |
|
Use downwind drift barrier Artificial windbreaks (e.g., a curtain or netting) are also applicable. Select one option |
Basic windbreak/hedgerow or use of artificial screen | 50% |
| Advanced windbreak/hedgerow | 75% | |
| Riparian/forests/woodlots/shrubland > 60-foot width | 100% | |
| Skipping last downwind row of orchard/vineyard | 50% | |