Pendimethalin study: Costs and environmental risks
Table 1. Price information* for bensulide, DCPA, and pendimethalin.
| Active ingredient | Formulated product** | Label application rate | Product application rate | Product price | Herbicide cost |
| gal/acre | $/gal | $/acre/application | |||
| Bensulide | Prefar 4E® | 6 quarts/acre | 1.5 | $ 80.00 | $ 120.00 |
| DCPA | Dacthal Flowable® | 8 pints/acre | 1.0 | $ 240.00 | $ 240.00 |
| Pendimethalin | Prowl H2O® | 1.5 pints/acre | 0.19 | $ 57.71 | $ 10.71 |
* Product prices from Helena Agri-Enterprises, LLC (Mesquite, NM) on June 5, 2023
** Mention of trade names is solely for the purpose of supplying information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by NMSU. Always check the most current label before applying herbicides.
Table 2. Environmental Impact Quotients (EIQ) for the herbicides proposed in this study. Low EIQ indicates less of an environmental impact than high EIQ.
| Active ingredient | Formulated product | Label application rate | EIQ* | EIQ Consumer | EIQ Worker | EIQ Ecological |
| Bensulide | Prefar 4E® | 6 quarts/acre | 149.7 | 23.0 | 34.5 | 391.5 |
| DCPA | Dacthal Flowable® | 8 pints/acre | 70.8 | 18.3 | 41.3 | 152.7 |
| Pendimethalin | Prowl H2O® | 1.5 pint/acre | 18.3 | 3.3 | 7.3 | 44.2 |
* Environmental Impact Quotients (EIQ) from: New York State IPM Program. Field Use EIQ Calculator version 1.0. Accessed 8 June 2023 https://nysipm.cornell.edu/eiq/calculator-field-use-eiq/
An Environmental Impact Quotient, or EIQ, is a numeric value for the potential environmental impact of a pesticide. EIQs are determined with toxicological and environmental impact data from the U.S. EPA. Additional considerations include the percent of active ingredient in the formulated product and the dose required to provide control. For a particular pesticide, the EIQ summarizes its possible impact on consumers, farmworkers, and the ecosystem. Although EIQ is not perfect, low EIQ suggests less of an environmental impact than high EIQ.