dod tactical herbicide sites - United States Department of Defense

DOD TACTICAL HERBICIDE SITESSite 12Location: Georgia Power Company Right-of-Way, andTennessee Valley Authority Power Line Right-of-WayDate → May 1964 – October 1965Activity Description: The successful screening of candidate defoliants at FortRitchie and Fort Meade prompted Fort Detrick personnel to seek additional sites where amore extensive evaluation could be conducted on Herbicide Orange, Picloram-2,4-D(Herbicide White formulation), and with various combinations of the commercialherbicides diquat and dicamba. The objective of the field tests was to evaluate theseformulations under field conditions against the standard tactical herbicide “Purple”.The Crops Division arranged with Georgia Power Company and Tennessee ValleyAuthority for the use of 65 acres of right-of-way through the swamps of Georgia, andadditional 65 acres of right-of-way in the mountains of Tennessee. The test sites selectedin Georgia were characterized by swamp forest vegetation with a long, hot, growingseason and ample water available for active growth. Typically, the level of water in theswamp was between 6 and 24 inches. Sections of the right-of-ways for the Valdosta-Thomasville Power Line and the Bonaire Power Line near Macon were selected fortreatment. In Tennessee, a section of the 200-foot right-of-way provided by theTennessee Valley Authority was in a mountainous area and on a power line betweenHiwassee Dam, North Carolina, and Coker Creek, Tennessee.Assessment: The aerial spray tests conducted on these transmission line right-ofwayswere by helicopter. In Georgia, six plots, each 60 by 2,640 feet, were treated on theValdosta-Thomasville line, which had a 60-foot right-of-way. On the Bonaire line, with200-foot wide right-of-way, seven plots were established each 200 feet wide and 700 feetlong. At both locations, Herbicides Orange and Purple were applied at 10 lbs/A. Theproposed Herbicide White formulation was applied at 4 lbs/A picloram and 11 lbs/A 2,4-D. In the aerial tests in Tennessee, the plots were difficult to mark because of themountainous terrain, and thus the right-of-way (approximately 3 acres between adjacentpowerline towers), served as the tests plots. The Orange and Purple Herbicides wereapplied at 4, 8, and 33 lbs/A. The proposed White formulation was sprayed at rates of6.25, 11.50, 19.10, and 25.5 lbs/A. The plots in Georgia were sprayed on 20-23 May1964. The plots in Tennessee were sprayed 17 June and 2-3 July 1964.31