title: Field experiments for the evaluation of pesticide spray-drift on arable crops.
abstract: Two distinct approaches were used to characterise spray-drift during the application of atrazine and alachlor to a maize crop. The first consisted in determining the quantities which did not reach their target. A first experiment was carried in 2001 to improve the sampling method. A second experiment in 2002 showed that losses represented 46 and 38% for atrazine and alachlor, respectively. The second approach was to follow the spatiotemporal evolution of the cloud formed during application. The concentrations observed near the application zone during spraying reached 4.5 microg m(-3) for atrazine and 8.5 microg m(-3) for alachlor. With alachlor these concentrations decreased rapidly when increasing distance from the plot or time following treatment, whereas in the case of atrazine they stabilised rapidly (between 0.5 and 0.3 microg m(-3)) both in space and in time. Deposits around the plot were light and slightly higher for alachlor (from 20 to 130 microg m(-2)). Alachlor was more rapidly diluted in space than atrazine, reflecting a differentiated evolution of physical form during the process. Alachlor, being more volatile than atrazine, is quickly transferred to the gaseous phase which was more rapidly dispersed than aerosols.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Etude et de Recherche en Environnement et Santé, Ecole Nationale de la Santé Publique, CS 74 312, avenue du professeur Léon Bernard, 35 043 Rennes Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ravier
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Haouisee
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Clément
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seux
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Briand
mesh_terms: D000081:Acetamides / Q000032:analysis*; D001280:Atrazine / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006540:Herbicides / Q000032:analysis*; D013997:Time Factors; D014919:Wind; D003313:Zea mays / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000081:Acetamides; D006540:Herbicides; C000188:alachlor; D001280:Atrazine