Pesticide application data and agronomic practices accross Europe and Argentina

A farm survey in 135 farms accross 10 european countries and Argentina was conducted in 2021. Data collected and reported in this database include

(i) General information such as the type of farming practice, size of farm and of fields, types of crops and livestock, as well as working capacity (employees).

(ii) For a selected one or two fields, a detailed description of the agronomic activities and yield parameters was compiled, which included crop and variety and e.g. position in crop rotation, as well as all crop-specific activities such as tillage, fertilisation, irrigation, pruning, and sowing. 

(iii) Activities related to crop protection were requested in detail, including but not limited to the use of PPP formulations and related tools and techniques, and the strategy and motivation of the farm manager for PPP applications. The assessment of the crop protection strategy on the respective fields included variety, dates of PPP applications, product tank mixtures, type of products, product brand name, product distributor, target organisms, mode of action, area treated, quantity of product applied, total volume applied (total tank volume: product and water volume), formulation, active substances and concentrations, technique of application, speed of application, type of nozzles, and costs of products applied.

(iv) Soil fertility management assessment included pre-crop, dates of application, types of product and nutrient specifications (NPK, micronutrients) as well as quantities applied. The information on agronomic practices was compiled in a ‘log book’, which listed all agronomic management practices on the respective fields during the whole season from planting/sowing to harvest as well as the underlying assumptions and motivations.

(vi) Finally, econometric data included costs of products and yield

Raw data was thoroughly screened for completeness, plausibility and data integrity, and revised/supplemented where necessary. Missing/unknown data was tagged and complemented where possible with proxies from e.g. product technical leaflets to allow for subsequent analysis. The data set was further complemented with related publicly available data, such as phenological codes (BSV, 2021.; Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, 2021), standard codes for crops and pests (EPPO secretariat, 2022.), mode of action of active substances and resistance risks (FRAC Committee, 2022.; HRAC Committee, 2022.; IRAC Committee, 2022.; Sparks & Nauen, 2015), and application recommendations of PPPs and fertilizers (collection of regional crop-specific or manufacturer-specific technical leaflets). If expenditures for PPPs were not available, costs for PPPs were assessed based on publicly available catalogues issued by manufacturers or regional PPP distributors. Data was also amended by hazard statements of active substances (Burtscher-Schaden et al.,)