So Much for Good Bugs

[Southern Planter]

Well Poo, I had to break down and spray Orthene yesterday. The plants were loaded with lady bugs and wasps until I weeded the patch. Then the good bugs went away. Suddenly, and I do mean suddenly the horn worms appeared. I had not checked the patch this weekend, and several plants got a mild chewing, with one plant munched to the bones. I did find one worm with the white blobs on him, I removed him to a weed before I sprayed the patch so that the wasps would survive.

How long should I now hold off from harvesting the plant? so much for my pipe dream of organic tobacco.

 

[Knucklehead]

Check the half life of the Orthene. If you are going to air cure and then naturally age for a year, it will be gone by the time you smoke anything. If you plan to kiln it, you can calculate how long to wait before smoking it. Harvest when the leaf is ready, the Orthene will continue to break down after harvest, you just need to know when it's safe to smoke.

 

[Michibacy]

Acephate (orthene) has a half life of 13 days in clay soil (less in field soil), after 65 days ~3% of the product remains to be broken down.

 

[LeftyRighty]

Depending on the source, half-life for orthene (acephate) is from 10 to 14 days, but I've seen longer half-lifes listed. Since I air-cure, and don't smoke it for 1 to 2 years, I don't worry about it.
I'm going to venture a theory - that degradation is dependent on ambient conditions, as is with most biochemical/biological processes. If it's air-cured in warm weather, fermented, and stored in mid-case for a couple months at room-temperature, then the deletrious compounds will be reduced to very low ppm or less. Unless you have access to a good laboratory, you'll never know for sure.
Smoke'm and enjoy!

 

[Southern Planter]

Reading the bottle it says to eat your tomatoes about 2 weeks after spraying.

Why do you suppose the good bugs left me in the lurch after I got weeded?

 

[workhorse_01]

Does orthene leave a smell on the leaf? I spray my roses with orthenex which is systemic great for black spot but to smell it, I don't want it on the bacca the Cyonara has no smell twenty min after use.

 

[LeftyRighty]

after the spray has dried on the plant, I have no noticeable smell.
I think you smell the fungicide, not acephate.

 

[LeftyRighty]

Fuzzy math…

I use Bonicide Systemic Insect Control – the label says 9.4% acephate.
Spray is mixed at 3 Tbs. per gallon.
It takes about 2 gallons to spray about 100 plants, which yields 30 lbs of smoke able tobacco.

3 Tbs (2 gal) 9.4%/100 (8.34 lbs/gal of water) equals 0.000612 or 612 ppm, when sprayed.
256 Tbs/gal x 30 lbs

My last spray is somewhat before topping. When topped, aphids are not a problem, and hornworms don’t seem interested in ripening leaf. Or, maybe I’ve already killed all the nasty critters.

Say 2 weeks to start priming, 6 weeks of air-cure, 4 weeks fermentation, 4 weeks resting or processing = 16 weeks, or, about 4+ months, weather dependent, before I start sample-smoking.
With a 14 day half-life of the acephate, after 16 weeks, there will be only 2.4 ppm (parts per million).

At 6 months (26 weeks), about 0.075 ppm, or 75 parts per billion..
At one year, since spraying, remaining acephate will be at 0.0091 parts per billion. And I doubt the current laboratory technology is sufficient to even detect it. Essentially, none of it remaining.

 

[Boboro]

My dads been smokein a pipe for 50 years. He said the stuff he usedta get was a lot better than what Is out thir now. No body ever worried about what they was sprayin on it then. The stuff we have now barly works except BT.With a little caution I don't think thir will be a problem with the chems. I use as little as possible cause they cost to dam much.