> Yes, the issue is amount,. Half life means little if the concentration is
> > small (point source) rather than uniformly distributed, such as a spray.
> >
>
> You push a coated seed into the ground.  Some of the coating abrades.  Some
> moves off the seed with water movement.  The seed germinates and the
> systemic moves throughout the stem leaves and roots.  The seed is gone.
> There is no more point source.
>

The issue is amount. The point source was to keep it simple.

In that vein, is it better to have one square inch of pesticide in a cubic
foot of soil or 144 square inches?  (The numbers are for example only and
to keep it simple).

The issue is not the half life of a pesticide, but the amount in the soil.
If you dilute a point source in a cubic foot you are much better off than
diluting a square foot of the same substance in that cubic foot.

So forget half life. Look at what is really there compared to past
pesticides which had the same effect on bees, per the last study. Also, the
orgganophosphates did leach into water supplies at high concentrations and
caused animal and fish problems. They were sprayed.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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