In the mid-1990s, the Spray Drift Task Force (SDTF) carried out an extensive program of field experiments to characterize off-site deposition of pesticides from spray drift. The SDTF effort concentrated upon aerial application equipment and carried out only a limited number of trials with ground-based sprayers. The ground trial results were analyzed to produce a set of ground sprayer deposition curves, which were incorporated into the AgDrift simulation shell for regulatory exposure assessments. Because of the small number of trials, the curves were very general in nature and thus could not reflect the influence of environmental conditions or nozzles producing large droplets. To account for the improved spray drift performance of more contemporary application technology, the CropLife America Spray Drift Issues Management Team commissioned the analysis of additional deposition data sets generated by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in 2000, 2004 and 2011. Detailed environmental conditions and application equipment settings were compiled, where available, from the both the SDTF and AAFC data and analyzed with multiple regression techniques. Based upon the regression analysis, the relative impact of the most important conditions and settings on spray deposition will be presented. From these results, a set of generalized ground deposition curves will be proposed, reflecting the importance of environmental conditions as well as improvements in spray application technology.

Beyond AgDRIFT – Analysis of expanded ground sprayer deposition data

250th National Meeting (2015)

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