With the loss of some tried and true pesticides from our arsenal more pressure has been placed on our current stable of chemistries. Resistance to various insecticides, fungicides and herbicides has caused us to revaluate our pest management programs with an eye towards fine-tuning them for maximum effectiveness and wise stewardship of the active ingredients.

   It has never been more important to insure that the chemical applications we make are as effective as possible. Most pesticides are expensive and our time is valuable. Each pesticide application needs to be made under conditions that will yield maximum control. An area that deserves more attention is the effect that water quality has on the efficacy of many pesticides. The pH and hardness (calcium and magnesium content) of the water source used for spraying pesticides can have a significant effect on the ability of certain products to do their jobs. Hydrolysis is the term used to describe the process that begins to degrade pesticides after they are added to water. For most pesticides this process is accelerated by high pH water. In some cases this decrease in activity happens quickly. The chart below gives some examples of pesticides that are most effective in a certain pH range. (The pesticide manufacturers supplied the ideal pH ranges.)

Pesticide	Ideal pH range	Pesticide	Ideal pH range
Avid	6.0-7.0	Orthene	5.5-6.5
A-Rest	5.5-6.5	Pennant	6.0-7.0
Cleary’s 3336	6.0-7.0	Round-Up Pro	5.0-6.0
Decree	5.5-6.5	Spectro	6.0-7.0
Distance	5.5-6.5	Sumagic	5.5-6.5

   pHase5 is a recent addition to our product line and addresses the most serious obstacles your water can create, and does so in a unique way. It utilizes a color change to indicate the changes in pH that are taking place as you ad the product. If your goal is pH of 5 add product until the water turns pink or red (depending on the hardness of your water). A pH of 6.0 is satisfactory for many pesticides and can be achieved by just adding enough pHase5 to cause the spray water to turn orange. pHase5 also negates the effects of high calcium and magnesium associated with hard water sources. The harder the water source the more product it takes to achieve the desired pH and pHase5 takes the guess work out of the process with the easily observable color change. This process should take place before the chemical is added to the spray tank.

   There are exceptions to every rule. A few pesticides we sell at Griffin should not be used with pHase5. Milstop fungicide raises the pH of the spray water as a part of its mode of action so reducing pH is counter productive in this case. Endeavor insecticide begins to hydrolyze (break down) at a pH below 7 so pHase5 is not recommended. A chart containing ideal pH ranges for most of the pesticides Griffin sells is available by contacting the Technical Department at the Leola branch.


Additional benefits from pHase5:

Contains a surfactant to reduce surface tension increasing pesticide coverage and decreasing visible residue from wettable powders.

Aids in compatibilities of tank mixes. (Test all tank mixes for safety before wide scale use and never attempt tank mixes forbidden on the pesticide label.)