Forest Research Nursery Waste Water Management Plan, Integrated Pest Management Plan, and Pesticide Safety

Throughout the growing season, April until November, we fertilize our seedlings with watersoluble fertilizers. Our chief concern is the nutrient nitrate. Nitrate, a form of nitrogen, is a common fertilizer used on wheat-fields and in our greenhouses. Nitrate is especially mobile in water and poses a human health risk when present in drinking water in significant quantities. We begin by monitoring the nitrate levels of our well water monthly throughout the growing season. We comply with all state regulations for the application of fertilizers through irrigation water, a process known as chemigation. We are all licensed chemigators, and our chemical injecting equipment is approved by the State of Idaho. Excess fertilizer solution, including nitrates, are pumped from the greenhouse into a 300,000- gallon wetland constructed in the fall of 1989 to treat effluent. The clay-lined wetland is stocked with aquatic plants that remove the excess nutrients. Bacteria also live in and around the roots of these plants, and they, too, are very efficient at removing nutrients. Further, some nutrients are degraded by sunlight. We monitor water quality in our wetland monthly during the active growing season to make sure the fertilizer levels in it are not excessive.

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Author(s): R. Kasten Dumroese, David L. Wenny

Publication: Forest Research Nursery Waste Water Management Plan, Integrated Pest Management Plan, and Pesticide Safety