Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations RoundUp.. 41% Glyphosphate question..

I have a two acre "food plot" for deer and doves in thewatershed directly above my pond. 150-200 yards or so...

I'm planning to mow, disk and plant this area (if the soil ever dries out).

There will be a 50 yard "buffer" of grasses between this area and my pond.

It sure would be easier to spray and kill the grass/weeds, but I'm a little concerned with run-off into the pond.

Probably would not get any(much) run-off unless there is another 3-5" rain.

I guess the question is his.... How long is Glyphosphate ACTIVE in the soil?? Days, months, years?

The pond/fish are doing SUPER, and I don't want to take a chance screwing this up.

Thanks!

Supposedly the soil degrades it in a very short time. Some people use glyphosate on their pond banks with no apparent ill effects. It would probably take a gallon of pure glyphosate to get you 1ppm in a fair sized pond.

There is some question about Roundup brand having a harmful surfactant. I don't guess it's harmful 50 feet from your pond. Surely it would break down in the soil. Certain groups love to get chemicals banned. If it really was harmful, it would surely be banned by now.

Here is a link on pond herbicides from the archives. Second is a link to a water approved glyco. It is the surfactant in Roundup that may be a problem. Rodeo is an aquatic approved form of glyco .


http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/guide/labmsds.html#imazapyr

http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/guide/rodeo_label.pdf

So what's so harmful about the Roundup to aquatic life?

Cecil, there is some study that says it can cause frog eggs not to hatch. It is the surfactant. I looked up the study long time ago, and the % used in the study is many more times that which would be used in normal applications. I dont bother trying to explain any more, or keep track of the studies. Michauxii, this study was direct contact. The soil degrades the product quickly. It is, of course, sprayed on the leafy material, then dries.

PS..I dont use Roundup. Too expensive. Too many other glypho products out there now.

Thanks Burgermeister I kind of thought that. Sounds like the cancer studies they do. They feed a chemical to a lab rat or put it on the skin at many, many, times the rate it would be in a normal situation and if there is cancer, bah boom it's a carcinogen!

I've used it on my cattails because it works faster for me than the so called glypho products that we are supposed to use. And I have a hard time finding them in my area. But don't sic the glypho police on me please!

One note about the frog eggs. The best time to spray the cattails is after the catkins form, which is long past the time frog eggs form in the spring. Go figure.

The brand name Rodeo is no longer manufactured under that name but the same thing can be purchased under the brand name "Aquastar", it's also much cheaper than when it was called Rodeo. We sprayed our cattails a couple of weeks ago.

I regularly use Roundup or it's generic competitors products on food plots around my pond almost every year. I have just as many frogs as ever. Never seen any with 3 legs either. I will admit that I like to use as little as possible however just because less chemical is better then more. Local farmers have filled me in on the fact that you don't have to mix Roundup as strong as recommeded for it to work on most weeds. I'm not sure what concentrations are recommended on packages sold for farm use but if you buy those sold for home use the concentrations are quite high. (do they just want you to buy more?) I've use as little as one pint mixed with 20 gallons of water to cover one acre. If you have some of the tougher weeds you go with a quart per acre. I don't know how much surfactant roundup has in it but I notice it does tend to bead up on some leaves so I usually mix a little car wash soap with it to make it real wet.

I drank DADT on a regular basis growing up on my grandfathers farm, 150 acre cotton field water shed no buffer to stock pond(our drinking water supply no filters). Only ill affect thus far is it made me addicted to ponds. I have 3 and counting now.

Thanks for the info!

I'm currently own a gallon jug of "High-Yield" brand of weed and grass killer.

It lists 41% and the balance is "inert" material. Don't see anything mentioning a surfactant. Would it be listed on the label? Is it considered an inert ingredient.

From the little reading I have done, it seems that a product with the surfactant does a better job on the weeds/grasses.

If the product I now have is without the surfactant, I'll use it but won't get too close to the pond. Then I'll buy a product with the surfactant for some other areas ( Wildlife food plots).

Someone told me to mix some dishwashing detergent with the spray. Anyone tried this?

Yep! When we sprayed our cattails a few weeks ago we used lemon scented Joy, the cattails have browned up and died quite nicely. My thoughts are the right surfactant probably works a little better though. My best advice is to spray first thing in the morning when there is very little wind and lot's of sunshine in the forecast, also, soak whatever you are spraying well.

AQUASTAR is a 53.8%glyphosate herbicide for use in and around water.

http://www.agrisel.com/aquastar.html

http://www.cygnetenterprises.com/product/aquastar.htm