title: Drift from the Use of Hand-Held Knapsack Pesticide Sprayers in Boyacá (Colombian Andes).
abstract: Offsite pesticide losses in tropical mountainous regions have been little studied. One example is measuring pesticide drift soil deposition, which can support pesticide risk assessment for surface water, soil, bystanders, and off-target plants and fauna. This is considered a serious gap, given the evidence of pesticide-related poisoning in those regions. Empirical data of drift deposition of a pesticide surrogate, Uranine tracer, within one of the highest potato-producing regions in Colombia, characterized by small plots and mountain orography, is presented. High drift values encountered in this study reflect the actual spray conditions using hand-held knapsack sprayers. Comparison between measured and predicted drift values using three existing empirical equations showed important underestimation. However, after their optimization based on measured drift information, the equations showed a strong predictive power for this study area and the study conditions. The most suitable curve to assess mean relative drift was the IMAG calculator after optimization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, University of Zurich , Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Glenda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: García-Santos
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, University of Zurich , Zurich, Switzerland.|Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading , Reading, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Feola
authors.affiliation: Agricultural Engineering, Technology and Food Science Unit, Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO) , Merelbeke, Belgium.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nuyttens
authors.affiliation: Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Universidad de Boyacá , Tunja, Boyacá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Diaz
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D003105:Colombia; D000067565:Farmers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007300:Insect Control; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D011198:Solanum tuberosum / Q000254:growth & development; D000078329:Workforce
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D010575:Pesticides; D012989:Soil Pollutants
keywords: Andean region; developing countries; drift curve; knapsack sprayer; mountain region; potato production; tropical soils; “Manual Técnico Andino”