"The Careless Few”

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30278, 2 November 1963, Page 6

"The Careless Few”

“I am afraid that usually because of careless application by some farmers we are becoming alarmed over the frequency with which residues are found that exceed the accepted tolerance of 5 parts a million (New Zealand tolerance level),” said the director of the Entomology Division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (Dr. W. Cottier), at last week’s conference of the New Zealand Grassland Association. "It is a case of the careless few spoiling things for the great majority. “The other obvious cause of excess contamination is drift, and unfortunately it has happened that a farmer has been accused of excess contamination in his products and he has not himself used any insecticide on his own farm—it has come from his neighbour. It is obvious, I

think, that to stop this sort of thing it will be necessary to ensure that the formulations used will not drift —that is, pelleted forms. . . . "In summing up control of the grub by chemicals we c.an say definitely that there is not yet anything in sight that can compete with D.D.T. in safety and economics. . . . As far as I can see from the price angle alone, D.D.T. is likely to be with us for grassgrub control for quite a time yet. We are suspicious that wholesale resistance to DD.T. by the grassgrub might appear, and if this happens its useful period for the grassgrub will be over, but this is by no means the situation at present. What I would ask very seriously is that farmers do their utmost to observe the proper precautions in applying D.D.T. If you can do this it will help us considerably to increase farm production in New Zeajgnd.” |