A versatile tool to compute spray drift hazards to downwind off-target areas

Research output: Contribution to conferenceAbstract

Abstract

The use of pesticides still is required to maintain the high production level of agriculture in Europe. For many years pesticides are used in an increasingly sophisticated way, to improve effectiveness of the pesticide application as well as to minimize the hazards for non-target organisms and the environment. For field applications of sprays several drift mitigation measures have been investigated and in some countries such measures have become obligatory. The effects of such measures must be quantified for a wide range of conditions, not all of which can be adjusted freely. In literature several studies are dealing with off-target drift deposition, particularly concerning experimental drift studies. Only a relatively small number of studies are dealing with the modelling of spray drift. For a quantitative estimation of spray drift hazards for downwind areas under arbitrary conditions, the model approach may be the more convenient choice, provided that it is validated thoroughly by an appropriate set of experiments. This study describes the development of an expert model to estimate spray drift deposits for field sprayers, while the user can adjust various parameters at will. Parameters include weather conditions, field conditions, sprayer selection and spray application procedure. The model is presented as a versatile tool for both simple and advanced situations. The drift data on which the model is founded, are based on an extensive set of field experiments covering a wide range of conditions. Therefore the model has potential to become a useful tool for quantifying and evaluating potential spray drift hazards for a wide range of realistic situations in field spraying.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2007
EventThe EFITA/WCCA conference: 6th Biennial Conference of the European Federation of IT in Agriculture: "Environmental and rural sustainability through ICT" - Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Duration: 2 Jul 20075 Jul 2007

Conference/symposium

Conference/symposiumThe EFITA/WCCA conference: 6th Biennial Conference of the European Federation of IT in Agriculture: "Environmental and rural sustainability through ICT"
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityGlasgow
Period2/07/075/07/07

Keywords

  • expert model
  • spray drift
  • off-target deposition
  • decision support tool

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