How dangerous is dithane?

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sharky

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How dangerous is dithane?
« on: June 01, 2008, 14:00 »
Hi there,

My tomato plants are growing under cover and yesterday I stripped off some leaves that were damaged with brown dead spots, there were also some unhealthy looking flowers. Also I have noticed a white coloured film of mold (?) growing on the canes, which is not surprising considering the warm humid environment of the greenhouse. So I have bought a box of dithane sachets, although I only want to use it if I really have to. I have read the pack and it sounds quite toxic, how dangerous is it? I don't want to be eating 'dithene tomatoes' although should I spray them as a preventative measure under the circumstances that I have mentioned?

What chemicals do supermarket suppliers use?

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sharky

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How dangerous is dithane?
« Reply #1 on: June 01, 2008, 16:42 »
bump. :(

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muntjac

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How dangerous is dithane?
« Reply #2 on: June 01, 2008, 16:45 »
you need to ventilate the house more /leave one window open all times and the rest during the day cold days wont hurt now ,for added ventilation leave the door open 2 inches ,,,,, stop cats going in. dithane is no good if you still maintain the enviroment mould likes  :wink:
still alive /............

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Aunt Sally

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How dangerous is dithane?
« Reply #3 on: June 01, 2008, 16:57 »
It's pretty safe I'd say:

Quote from: "[url=http://www.dowagro.com/PublishedLiterature/dh_0076/0901b80380076bfa.pdf?filepath=ca/pdfs/noreg/010-20122.pdf&fromPage=GetDoc
Dithane Data Sheet[/url]"]

Degradation and Metabolism:
Mancozeb:
Mancozeb breaks down rapidly in soil, sediment and water; terminal metabolites are natural products and with mineralization to carbon dioxide.
In animals: Mancozeb is poorly absorbed and rapidly excreted in animals. The spectrum of metabolites produced was similar in laboratory and farm animals, pointing to two common metabolic pathways, which both lead ultimately to the formation of glycine and to incorporation of the metabolites into natural products.
In plants: Mancozeb is extensively metabolized in plants, forming ethylenethiourea, ethylenethiuram monosulfide, ethylenethiuram disulfide, and sulfur as transitory intermediates. Terminal metabolites are natural products, especially those derived from glycine.
In soil: Mancozeb is rapidly degraded in the environment by hydrolysis, oxidation, photolysis, and metabolism. Half-life in soil is <1 day (average at 20°C).

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sharky

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How dangerous is dithane?
« Reply #4 on: June 01, 2008, 17:25 »
Thanks for that chem info aunt!

Can anybody tell me the chemicals tomato supermarket suppliers use?
Ta.

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muntjac

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How dangerous is dithane?
« Reply #5 on: June 01, 2008, 17:30 »
thius will help in growing toms no end its avery good systemon a commercial and a small grower scale and its full of good info
 the feed is actually tomorite but marketed under a diferent name in the states i think its called DOFF

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/opp7957

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Aunt Sally

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How dangerous is dithane?
« Reply #6 on: June 01, 2008, 17:58 »
The British Tomato growers don't use much it would seem.  The environment in their glass houses are very carefully controled

Quote from: "[URL=http://www.britishtomatoes.co.uk/newsite/health/greenhouse.html
The British Tomato Growers Association[/URL]"]

Pesticide Use
Food safety and environmental protection are absolute priorities for British growers. They pioneered the use of natural means of pest control to avoid sprays. They also all use bumblebees for pollination.

British tomato growers were the first to use natural enemies of pests, rather than chemical sprays, as a way to control them. These natural enemies are raised and supplied to growers by specialist 'bug breeders'.

Each pest has its own predator or parasite, sometimes more than one, which lives on it, and growers have had to become highly skilled at monitoring their crops to pick up a pest attack at an early stage. They also have to maintain a balance between the ‘bug busters’ introduced to the crop and the pests.

This simple system is very effective. Pests have become resistant to many insecticides. This means they no longer work. Another bonus is that consumers and glasshouse staff no longer come into contact with pesticides and neither do the two million bumblebees which are used by all British tomato growers to pollinate their crops. Bees don’t like pesticides either!

The other reason British tomato growers can make this approach work is that they have sophisticated glasshouses in which the environment can be precisely controlled. This also reduces the risk of tomato plants becoming diseased. For example, potato blight can be a serious problem, especially during wet summers. It does not effect commercial British tomato crops simply because growers are able to keep their plants dry. This is not possible with outdoor crops or those grown under plastic in southern Europe.

Tomato growers were among the first to develop Integrated Crop Management (ICM) production protocols with their customers. These became the NFU/Retailer ICM protocols, now the Assured Produce Protocols. Glasshouse tomato growers currently represent a higher level of registration and compliance with the Assured Produce scheme than those of any other crop. A little red tractor on food packs means they have been produced according to this scheme.

Few, if any, pesticides are used on British tomato crops and the TGA objective is to eliminate all such use within 10 years. Some growers have already achieved this. No organophosphate or organochlorine pesticides are used on British crops and no herbicides.

British tomato growers have eliminated the use of peat for growing their crops, most now being grown in rockwool, a clean, light material which provides ideal growing conditions and better crops. Other materials, such as wood bark and fibre and coco fibre (coir) are also being tested. The use of fossil fuels for soil sterilisation by steam has been eliminated by these systems, as has the use of chemicals such as methyl bromide for this purpose. Methyl bromide has been specifically targeted in environmental terms because of its ozone depleting characteristics. Organic crops are still grown in the soil.

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gobs

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How dangerous is dithane?
« Reply #7 on: June 01, 2008, 19:48 »
So it would seem that nasty things get on in storage and least likely in growing, but theory and practice are sometimes different, at least by a few farmers' accounts.
"Words... I know exactly what words I'm wanting to say, but somehow or other they is always getting squiff-squiddled around." R Dahl



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