Regional Analyses of Pesticide Runoff from Turf

Pesticide runoff loads from turf can vary dramatically with chemical properties and application regime, geographic location, irrigation rates and turf surface. Given the limited availability of field data, it is difficult to realistically consider the range of these variations in exposure assessments. The TurfPQ pesticide runoff model was combined with several other models and data bases to provide a general framework for efficient estimation of turf pesticide runoff loads on both a yearly and daily basis. The process was used to investigate differences in MCPP, fenarimol, iprodione and carbaryl runoff from fairways at four U.S. locations with widely differing climatic regions. Factors which accounted for the observed differences included pesticide properties and application amounts, irrigation applications and growing season runoff. The simulations indicated that runoff loads of a particular pesticide could vary by as much as an order of magnitude among the locations.