Spray drift reduction techniques for vineyards in fragmented landscapes.
In intensive agricultural systems spray drift is one of the major potential diffuse pollution pathways for pesticides and poses a risk to the environment. There is also increasing concern about potential exposure to bystanders and passers-by, especially in fragmented landscapes like the Italian pre-Alps, where orchards and vineyards are surrounded by residential houses. There is thus an urgent need to do field measurements of drift generated by air-blast sprayer in vineyards, and to develop measures for its reduction (mitigation). A field experiment with an "event method" was conducted in north-eastern Italy in no-wind conditions, in the hilly area famed for Prosecco wine production, using an air-blast sprayer in order to evaluate the potential spray drift from equipment and the effectiveness of some practical mitigation measures, either single or in combination. A definition of mitigation is proposed, and a method for the calculation of total effectiveness of a series of mitigation measures is applied to some what-if scenarios of interest. Results show that low-drift equipment reduced potential spray drift by 38% and that a fully developed vine curtain mitigated it by about 70%; when the last row was treated without air-assistance mitigation was about 74%; hedgerows were always very effective in providing mitigation of up to 98%. In conclusion, spray drift is not inevitable and can be markedly reduced using a few mitigation measures, most already available to farmers, that can be strongly recommended for environmental regulatory schemes and community-based participatory research.
Institute of Agro-environmental and Forest Biology - CNR, Agripolis, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy. Electronic address: stefan.otto@ibaf.cnr.it.
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Otto
Institute of Agro-environmental and Forest Biology - CNR, Agripolis, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy. Electronic address: donato.loddo@ibaf.cnr.it.
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Loddo
Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry (TESAF), University of Padova, Agripolis, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy. Electronic address: cristiano.baldoin@unipd.it.
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Baldoin
Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Agripolis, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy. Electronic address: giuseppe.zanin@unipd.it.
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Zanin
D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007558:Italy; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D027843:Vitis; D014919:Wind
D010575:Pesticides
Hedgerow; Low-drift add-on equipment; Mitigation calculation; Mitigation measures; Prosecco wine; Spray drift