How to fill out your pesticide application record
(Compulsory information required to satisfy the Records Regulation is in Italics.)
While this form is multi-purpose, applicators with specialised use patterns, eg post-harvest quarantine dips, may prefer to use a customised form. In any case, advice is given on how to adapt this form to a range of specialised needs. Records must be kept for 3 years. Records should be made within 24 hours of the application.
Property/holding
Attach a detailed property map (eg line drawing), showing adjoining sensitive areas, with paddocks and other features clearly identified. Fill in the residential address.
Applicator details
The applicator, or person applying the pesticide, must fill in their contact details. If the applicator is not the owner, e.g. a contractor or employee, then the owner’s details also have to be filled in. In the case of a contractor, one copy of the record should be kept by the applicator and another given to the owner.
Sensitive area identification
If there are sensitive areas, either on the property or on land adjoining, these should be identified in advance, and marked on the sensitive areas diagram, together with any precautions or special instructions. When using a contractor or giving the job to an employee, this section should be filled in and given to the person doing the application BEFORE the job starts. The property map with sensitive areas marked should be shown to them, and the job fully discussed.
Paddock identification
Identify the paddocks/blocks and order of treatment (if there is more than one) in the ‘paddock’ row of the form and/or by references to the property map. This should be filled in prior to the start of application, along with the residential address. If using a contractor or an employee, this information should also be given to them BEFORE they start the job. Applicators using GPS systems could include a GPS reading in addition to the paddock number/name. For vertebrate pest baiting, specify part of paddock baited, e.g. ‘buried baits at 300 m along north fence’.
Crop/animal identification
The left hand side of the table is for crops, pastures and plants (non-crop, e.g. bushland and fallow), the right hand side for animals. As a minimum, identify the host (crop/situation or animal). It is desirable to identify the pest/disease/weed as well. It would be helpful to provide as much detail about the pest/disease/weed as possible, e.g. for a weed – 4 leaf; for a grub – 3rd instar/10 mm. Addition of details such as crop variety and growth stage are often important for QA schemes, but may also be necessary to positively identify the area treated as required by the regulation.
If using a contractor or employee, much of the animal information should be filled in and given to the person making the application BEFORE the job starts, e.g. type (yearling, cows, weaners, ewes, wethers) and/or mob (sufficient detail to allow positive identification) of animals. This will ensure the right animals are treated or withheld following treatment.
Animal applications using hand held equipment do not have to be recorded, e.g. drenching, vaccinating, hand dressing and hand jetting of ectoparasites. However, the form can be used to record these treatments if required by QA schemes.
Horticultural dips, e.g. postharvest quarantine, have to be recorded. For those producers seeking ICA (Interstate Certification Assurance) status, enter the time of dip mixture or top-up preparation under ‘Comments’ in the ‘Location, Applicator, Date of Application’ section, e.g. ‘mixture prepared 9.00am, top-up 3.00pm’. This box could also be used to indicate when the mixture was discarded, e.g. ‘discarded 25.12.01’. The ‘Crop Variety’ row could be used to total the approximate quantity of fruit treated. Under ‘Total L or kg’, enter both volumes of made-up dip and concentrate, e.g. ‘20 mL Lebaycid/200 L mixture’. In the case of dip baths, weather does not have to be recorded, which means the start and finish times in the weather column can be used for the treatment commencement and completion items of ICAs 1–3.
Product details
The product name and rate/dose should be transcribed from the label. For tank mixes, include all products in the mixture. If the use pattern is on permit, you must read the permit. It is recommended you include the permit number and expiry date as well as the label details. The permit rate/dose may vary from that on the label. Don’t forget to include the label product name.
The ‘expiry date’ box is included specifically for permits. However, you may find it useful to record the expiry dates of veterinary medicines and of those few agricultural chemicals that have expiry dates. You could also use it to record that batch number of the product.
The water rate may come from the label, or from your standard practice or as a result of your calibration. If additives or wetters are included in the mixture, it is helpful to note these.
With animals, if they have been drafted into different groups for treatment on the basis of age or weight, list the rate/dose for each group.
For vertebrate pest baiting, specify active ingredient (e.g. 1080), type of bait (e.g. grain, carrot) and how administered (eg bait station, trail). In the case of yellow phosphorous, specify number of carcasses poisoned.
The total L or kg can be calculated when the application is finished. The total used may be expressed in terms of either the product or the mixture.
If the label has a WHP (withholding period), note this down. If there is an ESI (export slaughter interval – applying to animals slaughtered for export), note it too. To calculate the date when treated produce is suitable for sale, add the WHP or ESI (whichever is relevant) to the date of application, e.g. if you applied a pesticide with a WHP of 7 days on the 7th December, you could harvest or slaughter the host 7 full (24 hour) days later — 15th December.
Equipment details
As a minimum, you have to fill in what equipment you used. Positive identification can be assisted by specifying the settings used for the application, e.g. nozzle type and angle, pressure. The nozzle type will usually include the angle. With pressure, the reading should be as close to the nozzle as possible. Other details are useful as a reminder for future use, or as a check on your set-up should you have a treatment failure, e.g. date of calibration and water quality. Water quality is important for herbicide efficacy. At the most basic level, water quality can be described in terms of its source, e.g. rainwater, dam water, bore water.
Weather
As a minimum, you have to record wind speed and direction. This is better measured with instruments than estimated. Record any changes during application.
You must also record the time of day when you started, and the time when you finished.
Weather records have to be made for all equipment that distributes pesticide through the air, including shower dips and jetting races. While records of weather for dip baths for plant produce, vertebrate pest bait laying, and animal ectoparasite treatments using plunge dips are excluded, it would still be advisable to record the weather when making these applications.
Rainfall should be recorded for the 24 hours before and the 24 hours after application, unless a different figure is given in the restraints or critical comments sections of the label. Rainfall before or after application can affect efficacy.
Temperature and relative humidity should also be recorded, particularly if either or both are referred to in the restraints or critical comments sections of the label. Temperature and relative humidity can affect efficacy, increase the risk of off-target drift or may damage the host (e.g. phytotoxicity) or a combination of all three.
