ABSTRACT:In pesticide applications, small droplets are desired for better coverage and uniform distribution. Yet, small droplets have a problem: Drift, the movement of droplets off-target. Low drift nozzle produces fewer drift-prone droplets, < 100 µm, compared to standard hydraulic nozzles. In pesticide applications, standard hydraulic nozzles, hollow cone and flat fan nozzles are generally used by farmers. These nozzles have broad droplet spectrum and high proportion drift-prone droplets. Sample of drifted droplets and measurements in field conditions are expensive and can be time-consuming. However, models can be applied to predict drift without field measurement. In this study, model and field measurement of percentage pesticide drift were compared using different hydraulic nozzles, D4-45, F 11006 and low drift 11003 by gas chromatography equipped with a nitrogen-phosphorus detector. In the result of this study, for all nozzles, values up to 2 m and 3 m showed that there were statistically different according to German model and Dutch model, respectively. In the result of this study, percentage drift at 5 m compared to 1 m distance decreased approximately 15 folds in low drift 11003, 12 in F 11006 and 10 folds in hollow cone D4-45 nozzles in actual application and 5 folds in German and 9 folds in Dutch models.

Abstract:In Turkey, in 2010, the amount of pesticide (active ingredient; a.i.) used in agriculture was about 23,000 metric tons, of which approximately 32% was fungicides. In 2012, 14 a.i. were used for fungus control in wheat cultivation areas in Adana province, Turkey. These a.i. were: azoxystrobin, carbendazim, difenoconazole, epoxiconazole, fluquinconazole, prochloraz, propiconazole, prothioconazole, pyraclostrobin, spiroxamine, tebuconazole, thiophanate-methyl, triadimenol, and trifloxystrobin. In this study, the potential risk of a.i. on non-target organisms in fungicide application of wheat cultivation was assessed by The Pesticide Occupational and Environmental Risk (POCER) indicators. In this study, the highest human health risk was for fluquinconazole (Exceedence Factor (EF) 1.798 for human health), whereas the fungicide with the highest environmental risk was propiconazole (EF 2.000 for the environment). For non-target organisms, the highest potential risk was determined for propiconazole when applied at 0.1250 kg a.i. ha-1 (EF 2.897). The lowest total risk was for azoxystrobin when applied at 0.0650 kg a.i. ha-1 (EF 0.625).

The performance of three vacuum precision seeders was investigated in a field study. Seeding uniformity was determined in three different within-row distances: 14, 18 and 21 cm. The seeders were operated at 1.8, 3.6, 5.4 and 7.2 km h -1 . Successive seed spacing along of 3 m of row was measured in three replications on each row. For evaluating the seeding uniformity of seeders, seed spacings were analyzed using the methods (MISS, MULT, QFI and PREC). There were no differences between seeders. For P < 0.01, operating speed affected MISS and QFI values, and the within-row seed spacing affected MULT and PREC values. The best operating speed was 1.8 km h -1 because of the highest QFI value (88.5%). There was no difference between 1.8 and 3.6 km h -1 . The speeds, 1.8 and 3.6 km h -1 , were different from 5.4 and 7.2 km h -1 . The best within-row distance was 18 cm because the QFI value was higher than those of 14 and 20 cm, 86.9%, 82.0% and 81.8%, respectively. The best PREC value was obtained for 21 cm within-row distance (17.4%

When calibration, spraying height, applied pressure, volume rate, nozzle type and application time of equipment used in pesticide applications are incorrect, this causes the amount of agricultural pesticide applied per unit area to be more or less needed. A survey study was carried out on farmers in order to determine whether or not they adjust application pressure of pesticide equipment, nozzle type, volume rate, spraying height and calibration of spraying equipment needed for pesticide application to have values, and also whether or not they carry out agricultural pesticide application in accurate weather conditions such as wind speed, air temperature, relative humidity, temperature and application time. This research was conducted in 2008 by randomly determining 110 agricultural organizations located in villages in the center of Sanliurfa/Turkey and its districts. Survey study was carried out by taking data from pesticide applications processes made on products such as cotton, wheat, barley, lentils and corn which have been intensely produced in the region. It was determined that in general, farmers operated field sprayer at very high pressures in agricultural pesticide application and they did not adjust travel speed of boom sprayer based on the calibration of pesticide application equipment. Moreover, based on data obtained from survey studies, application operators and farmers did not know values of wind speed, temperature and relative humidity required for agricultural pesticide applications.