PH24 Environmental Assessment, Environmental Toxicology
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Thursday
(PH275) Predictive crop residue modelling and implementation of pesticide minimisation strategies in S.E. Asia.
Price, C1, 2, Van den Brink, P2, Little, D1, 1 Institute of Aquaculture, Stirling, Scotland2 ALTERRA, Wageningen, Netherlands
ABSTRACT- Pesticides are extensively utilised across to world as plant protection agents that ensure the production of uniform, blemish free crops. The presence of pesticide residues in food and within the environment as a whole is a cause of continued concern, especially in areas of the world where regulation and legislation are ineffective to control the improper use and disposal of these chemicals. The issue of residues is particularly pertinent when considering S.E. Asian countries due to the widespread intensification of horticulture and its integration with other activities through shared water resources, such as the diversification of irrigated rice growing agroecosystems. This presentation intends to highlight the major dissipation routes following the application of a given pesticide including volatilisation, photodegradation, surface runoff, systemic uptake and surface adhesion and their subsequent retention within plant tissues. The major dissipation pathways of pesticides will be discussed in the context of the development of a predictive crop residue model. This model will provide a valuable tool for the accurate interpretation of the risks related to pesticide use, in all compartments of the agro-ecosystem. The factors influencing the various dissipation routes will be established through iterations of the model, thus facilitating the identification of those factors that have potential to reduce the amount pesticide applied by increasing the efficacy of a given application. Intervention strategies that aim to minimise pesticide inputs are being carried out under the EC funded MAPET project. The outputs of these strategies will be disseminated to highlight the benefit of farmer-generated research agendas, to share knowledge and ultimately to reduce pesticide inputs by implementing holistic crop protection strategies, which are locally specific.
Key words: residues, pesticides , modelling, dissipation pathways