Everhart Horticulture Consulting

Dr. Everhart has served as a professional witness or judicial expert in court cases. He has extensive experience assessing crop damage and injury symptoms due to herbicide drift and differentiating it from insects, diseases, and environmental causes.

Everhart Horticulture Consulting also provides ongoing loss assessments and advice on how to manage and minimize future damage.  A comprehensive report in relation to losses sustained and options available can also be prepared for each case. 

Examples of services provided include mediation of disputes between applicators and property owners, and between neighbors regarding damage to existing plant materials caused by a variety of activities including off-target pesticide drift, faulty applications, excavation, pruning practices, etc.

To accurately diagnose herbicide injury, one must know the symptoms produced by particular herbicides on specific plants.  Herbicides often show different symptoms depending on the plant injured, timing, mode of action, fate of the herbicide, the dose applied, and other factors that interact and complicate the situation.

In addition, a variety of factors may cause symptoms that resemble herbicide injuries.  Some of these include insect and disease damage, adverse weather such as frost damage and drought, soil compaction, root stress or damage, improper soil ph, misapplied fertilizers, ice-melting or de-icing salt, and genetic mutations.

 If you should you find yourself involved in a potential herbicide drift situation, please do contact us as early in the process as possible.  Oftentimes, an unbiased evaluation and the sharing of research-based information can lead to a resolution that is satisfactory to all parties without protracted, expensive, and divisive litigation.