Agricultural workers manually harvesting tobacco have the potential for high dermal fexposure to pesticides, particularly on the hands. Often gloves are not worn as it hinders the harvesters' ability to harvest the tobacco leaves. To enable harvesters to remove pesticide residue on the hands and decrease absorbed doses, the EPA Worker Protection Standard requires growers to have hand-wash stations available in the field. The purpose of this study was to measure the concentration of acephate residue on the hands of tobacco harvesters, and the effectiveness of hand washing in reducing the acephate residue. Hand-wipes from the hands of 12 tobacco harvesters were collected at the end of the morning and at the end of the afternoon over 2 consecutive days. Each harvester had one hand-wiped prior to washing his hands, and the other hand-wiped after washing his hands with soap and water. In addition to the hand-wipe samples, leaf-wipe samples were collected from 15 tobacco plants to determine the amount of acephate residue on the plants. The average acephate level in leaf-wipe samples was 1.4 ng/cm 2 . The geometric mean prewash and postwash acephate levels on the hands were 10.5 and 0.4 ng/cm 2 , respectively. Both prewash (P-value ¼ 0.0009) and postwash hand (P-value ¼ 0.01) samples were positively correlated with leaf-wipe concentrations. Tobacco harvester position tended to influence hand exposure. Hand washing significantly reduced acephate levels on the hand, after adjusting for sampling period, hand sampled, job position, and leaf-wipe concentration (P-valuer0.0001) with levels reduced by 96%. A substantial amount of acephate was transferred to the hands, and while hand washing significantly reduced the amount of residue on the hands, not all residue was removed.

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In a series of experiments, flurprimidol (Topflor, SePRO Inc., Carmel, Indiana, USA) was applied as a preplant bulb soak to determine its efficacy on growth control of 'Star Gazer' oriental lily (Lilium hybrids), 'Nellie White' Easter lilies (Lilium longiflorum), and vigorously growing tiger lilies (Lilium lancifolium). Emergence date was noted, and the plants were measured at bloom for plant height, plant diameter, and flower number. Optimal concentrations varied by species. Preplant bulb soaks of flurprimidol at 25 to 400 mg L-1 were applied to 'Star Gazer', and a concentration of 25 mg L-1 resulted in plants 47.7 cm tall, which were 22.7% shorter than the untreated control. 'Orange Tiger' lily bulbs were hydrated in 17°C water for 1 h, allowed to drain 1 h, given 10-min soaks of 0 to 160 mg L-1 flurprimidol, and then allowed to drain for 1 h prior to potting. Flurprimidol at 10 to 20 mg L-1 controlled plant stretch. Plants were transplanted into a field, and no residual effect of flurprimidol preplant bulb soaks were found on the second year growth. Rates were confirmed with three additional L. lancifolium cultivars, and cultivar response varied with 10 to 20 mg L-1 being effective for 'Pink Tiger' and 'Yellow Tiger' while 10 mg L-1 was excessive for 'White Tiger'. 'Nellie White' Easter lilies were more responsive to flurprimidol preplant bulb soaks than other lily cultivars. Optimal concentrations were in the range of 1 to 2 mg L-1 flurprimidol for 9/10 sized bulbs. Not pre-soaking the bulbs in water or prolonged soaking (≥64 min) the bulbs in flurprimidol increased the plant growth regulator efficacy for 'Nellie White'.

This study was conducted to compare different formulations of a slow-release fertilizer with a conventional fertilizer program to determine their impact on yield and growth of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum). Two formulations of a methylene-urea slow-release fertilizer (Nitamin®) were evaluated on drip-fertigated and plastic-mulched bell peppers during 2006 in the eastern coastal plain and western Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. Liquid slow-release formulations were applied the first 6 or 9 weeks of the growing season and a dry formulation was banded at planting. Treatments were compared with the extension-recommended rate of 200 lb/acre nitrogen (N) (NC-200) and a high-input fertilizer rate of 300 lb/acre N (HI-300) from calcium nitrate injected in 12 weekly applications of drip irrigation. Irrigation was applied twice per week. The slow-release granular formulation at 200 lb/acre N produced the highest marketable yield and better canopy quality in eastern soil. Early marketable yield for this treatment accounted for 46% of the total yield. All slow-release treatments had higher N use efficiency (NUE) values than NC-200 and HI-300 in the eastern study. In loam soil (western study), pepper yield was statistically similar among treatments. Lower rates (150 lb/acre N) of slow-release fertilizer performed as well as NC-200 and HI-300 for marketable yield. Low rates (150 lb/acre N) of one of the liquid formulations performed better in total and marketable NUE than NC-200 and HI-300 in Fletcher, North Carolina. Liquid and dry formulations of slow-release fertilizer showed a potential to be used on bell pepper production across the state at reduced N rates, with greater impact on yield in coarse-textured soils found predominantly in the eastern coastal plain region.