PARENT SESSION

1H a/b/c - Pesticides, pharmaceuticals, perfluoroalkylated substances, antibiotics
Poster Hall
8:30 AM - Wednesday, 30 April 2003
Chair: de Voogt, P.¹, ¹
Co-chair: Purdy, R.², Pluecken, U.³, Koerdel, W.⁴, Tolls, J.⁵, Kümmerer, K.⁶, ^{2 3 4 5 6}

(WEP/44) Cotton plantation in Mato Grosso, Brazil – environmental conditions and potential of water contamination by pesticides.

Dores, Eliana¹, Vecchiato, Antonio¹, Pinto, Alicio¹, Carbo, Leandro¹, Cunha, Marcelo¹, ¹ Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil

ABSTRACT- It is produced in sedimentary highlands with predominance of deep soils (above 2 m). Typical soils in the top positions are Ustox (Latossolo Vermelho Amarelo*) which become increasingly more sandy – Psamments (Neosolos Quartzarenicos*) towards the bottom of the valley. In Primavera do Leste e Campo Verde, Mato Grosso, the cotton area during the 2000/2001 crop season was 100,000 ha. It is localized on the Chapada dos Guimaraes plateau, with mean altitude of 600-700 m. The climate is of the savanna type, with mean annual air temperatures of 23°C, and a mean annual precipitation of 1900 mm. There are two clearly distinguished rainy (November to April) and dry (May to October) seasons. Cotton culture goes from December to July. In this region, the permeability coefficient of Latossolo varies from 2 x 10^-3 to 5 x 10^-2 cm/seg, being classified as having medium permeability. The permeability of Neosolos Quartzarenicos is expected to be even higher. The water table level varies from 1,0 m a 15 m under the planted areas. These environmental conditions present a scenario of high potential risk of contamination of superficial and underground waters. The pesticides mostly used in this region are: acetamiprid, aldicarb, azoxystrobin, carbendazim, chlorpyrifos, diuron, endosulfan, metamidophos, methomyl, metolachlor, teflubenzuron, thiametoxan, gliphosate and paraquat. Among them, chlorpyrifos, paraquat and gliphosate adsorb intensively to soil particles presenting low leaching potential. A monitoring study of pesticides in water is being carried out in this region. First analyses showed the presence of endosulfan, metolachlor and aldicarb. * Brazilian Soil Classification

Key words: pesticides, cotton