We are happy to announce that FIESTA Lawn Weed Killer is now approved at a new lower rate, about half of the previous label rate. Applied as targeted or blanket applications, one gallon of Fiesta now treats up to 10,800 ft2. This new rate offers turf managers a more effective and affordable treatment option.

FIESTA applied at three week intervals up to four times per year ensures control of large and hard to kill weeds. Research at the Guelph Turfgrass Institute has shown that three blanket applications of 100 mL/m2 three weeks apart results in turf that is 95% weed-free. FIESTA is now also labelled for application to newly seeded turf just four weeks old.

With FIESTA turf weed killer, lawn care operators and landscapers are able to provide the best weed control possible with an environmentally friendly herbicide. To learn more about FIESTA, see the new FIESTA Turf Weed Killer technical bulletin and video below.

Land managers often find it arduous to balance the need for effective weed and pest management with conserving the land’s valuable resources. It is not a secret that pesticides are full of chemicals and these are harmful to humans and animals alike. To reduce the negative environmental and health impacts, many cities and states are implementing stringent restrictions on the use of chemical pesticides in their parks and recreation departments.

Why Are Chemical Pesticides So Dangerous?

Since pesticides kill insect pests, such as the Japanese Beetle, imagine the effects of these chemicals in the human body. Aside from direct exposure to chemical pesticides, there is the danger of these chemicals leaching into the water supply.
When vast amounts of land are sprayed with pesticides, these chemicals sink deep into the ground and often find their way into the groundwater supply. Countless studies have linked pesticide exposure to cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, and even ADHD. Because the dangers of chemical pesticides are so well documented, the Environmental Protection Agency is working at the federal level to control how people use pesticides.

Many Cities Are Leading the Way in Stringent Chemical Pesticide Restrictions

The EPA allows states to adopt their own chemical pesticide rules and regulations. Just like the EPA, states gain their power to put restrictions in place by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. Many cities across the United States are becoming organic cities with no chemicals being used for weed or pest control. The following are some of the major cities that have adopted these stringent policies.

Tucson, Arizona
Several cities in California, including Burbank, Malibu, Laguna Hills, Novato, and San Clemente
Boulder, Colorado
Middletown and Oxford, Connecticut
Jupiter, Miami, and Stuart, Florida
Moscow, Idaho
Several cities in Illinois, including Franklin Park, Evanston, and Naperville
Story County, Iowa
Lawrence, Kansas
West Chester, Pennsylvania

There are at least twenty states that have begun the initiative to go as chemical free as possible. Even when handing invasive pests like Japanese Beetles, they use organic pesticides that are not harmful to the environment.

What Are the Benefits of Organic Pesticides?

With many cities across the United States now adopting organic pesticide laws, it makes sense this will eventually trickle down to the individual level. If a state’s park and recreation departments forbid chemical pesticides, it will not be long before the state and EPA step in to stop individuals from using them. There are many benefits to using Botanical Insecticides, including the following.

Botanical Insecticides are made from plant sources so they are not toxic to the environment. The main reason these natural insecticides are safer is because the components of these treatments break down into harmless compounds within minutes or hours of application.
Natural pesticides are chemically very close to the plants they derive from, so the soil can break them down without causing any toxic byproducts to develop.
Many city parks and recreation programs have found using these insecticides helps to reduce the costs of treating pests like Japanese Beetles.
Natural pesticides can target unwanted pests while being less harmful to beneficial insects. Creating the ideal balance between the protection of beneficial insect species, while eliminating unwanted pest insects is not always easy for parks and recreation departments.
Botanical Insecticides were widely used up until the 1940s when synthetic pesticides became available. Because of the dangers of synthetic chemical pesticides, botanical options are making a big comeback.

Most natural insecticides do not harm plant life and they are safe for humans and animals. Overall, using natural and organic means of insect elimination is safer for the environment. As with any pesticide, the products must be used according to exact instructions.

Choosing the Right Products Is Essential

Companies like Enviro Selects are leading the way in providing organic and natural products that reduce dangers to the environment and to your human health. Two of their proven and effective natural insecticides, Azaguard Insecticide and Bioceres WP are effective options that can be used in a variety of applications. These powerful broad-spectrum insecticides are both OMRI approved and safe for the environment, yet also powerful enough to kill many species of insects, including Aphids, Beetles, Sawflies, Webworms, and more.

Products like Zerotol Fungicide and Fiesta Herbicide can also be used to naturally keep parks and city land free of weeds and invasive algae to allow for healthy plant growth.

Conclusion

When these environmentally friendly products are used in conjunction with one another, parks and recreation departments can meet the stringent guidelines put forth at the state and federal level. These products help to ensure parklands are safer for wildlife and humans alike. Enviro Selects works diligently to ensure that all products they carry meet the guidelines set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency.

If you’re looking for an effective natural weed killer for lawns, the existence of Fiesta would definitely skyrocket your excitement levels. Based on 11 years of field testing and intensive laboratory research by Neudorff North America, this holy grail of natural gardening successfully marked its release in 2010. Fiesta weed killer is an odorless, bio-rational, and selective weed killer comprising the active ingredient of Iron HEDTA. When this iron is ingested by weed, their root systems die as a result of rapid withering, simultaneously ensuring that lawns are not harmed. Even in comparison to other effective herbicides, the functionality and effectiveness of Fiesta is difficult to match.

Statistically, various studies demonstrate that Fiesta accomplishes visible results and offers better weed control more swiftly than other renowned weed killers like Killex, Duplosan, and 2, 4-D, specifically at temperatures cooler than 40 °F.

The Biopesticide Division considers Fiesta as a natural weed killer that has low toxicity. This is because Fiesta solely comprise naturally-occurring iron HEDTA. Once dried, it is completely safe for pets and humans, making it a flawless, environmental-friendly alternative to chemical herbicides like Killex, which have been banned in multiple areas in Canada and the US. According to other field research, it has been demonstrated that, Fiesta, in comparison to other herbicides, will not stain surfaces that are hard, for instance, concrete, gravel, or wood, at standard application rates.

Fiesta is able to neutralize a wide array of common lawn weed, comprising tough ones like dovefoot geranium, narrowleaf plantain, broadleaf plantain, Canadian thistle, creeping buttercup, while English daisy, English daisy, chickweed, while clover, and dandelions. Additionally, it is permitted for use in an array of turf types, for example, non-crop areas, cemeteries, parks, athletic fields, and even golf courses.

Besides this, additional benefits that this biosafe weed control measure provides consists of its ability to work swiftly, generating visible results in as short as 24 hours. It is also rain fast, with its application stretching out to turfs and lawns consisting of fescue, perennial ryegrass, and Kentucky bluegrass.

BioSafe Systems ran trials on two golf courses this season and saw a great result in reduced nematode pressure. Both golf courses were treated with our ZeroTol 2.0 and AzaGuard products.
Read the full study here:

http://www.golfcourseindustry.com/gci-100313-biosafe-systems-nematode-study.aspx

Nematodes are a type of roundworm – very small and transparent, they frequently go unnoticed. However, these plant parasitic nematodes can cause significant damage to the roots and foliage of garden plants. Foliar nematodes live in and feed on the leaves and buds of plants such as peonies, hostas, chrysanthemums, begonias, columbines and azaleas.

Gardeners and landscapers with a foliar nematode problem will notice sections of the leaf first turn yellow, than purplish brown, and finally completely brown. If treated when symptoms first appear, the following application can significantly reduce nematode populations, minimizing plant damage.

ZeroTol is a broad spectrum algaecide, bactericide and fungicide based on peroxygen chemistry (27.0% Hydrogen Peroxide and 2.0% peracetic acid). The label has wide applications for greenhouse/nursery use. It can be applied as a foliar spray, soil drench, fog or mist for disease and algae control. For foliar nematode control, the recommended rate would be 1:100 applied at 5 day interval. The product works as a contact kill and has no residual benefits. Hence, applying early when initial foliar disease symptoms appear or even better if applied as a preventative (before symptoms appear) on a 5 day interval is recommended. This study proved that ZeroTol can be very effective on leaves and also in soil. The other attributes of ZeroTol is that it has no residual concerns and can be safely tank mixed with most fungicides and insecticides.

One of BioSafe System’s newer products, AzaGuard, is a broad spectrum botanical insecticide/nematicide. The active component in AzaGuard is a 3.0% Azadirachtin. Azadirachtin is a natural liminoid present in seeds of neem tree and was shown to be very effective in insect and nematode control by it’s properties as an insect growth regulator (IGR), oviposition inhibitor and also as a natural repellant.

ZeroTol can be safely tank mixed with AzaGuard and our recommendation for foliar nematode control is to tank mix ZeroTol with AzaGuard ( 1 gallon of ZeroTol + 22.5 fl.oz of AzaGuard per 100 gallons of water) and spray once every 5-7 days.