Use of a Canopy Opener in Fungicide Applications to Improve Asian Soybean Rust Control

In soybeans, the leaves of the upper canopy often act as a shield against fungicide penetration, preventing pesticide deposition on target. Fungicide applications to control Asian soybean rust (ASR) are especially difficult because the infection usually starts on the lower canopy. In this study, soybean plants of an early indeterminate cultivar and a determinate cultivar were sprayed with the fungicide azoxystrobin + benzovindiflupyr at six different times of the day with or without the addition of a curtain of chains on the spray boom, which acted as a canopy opener. The number of uredia of cm-2 and grain yield were measured to evaluate application efficacy. We found that the use of the curtain of chains reduced ASR control on the upper canopy for the indeterminate cultivar; however, less of a negative effect was observed for the determinate cultivar. The curtain of chains improved ASR control on the lower and middle canopies at more hours of the day for the determinate cultivar. For both cultivars, the curtain of chains increased ASR control at 6:00, 9:00, and 18:00 h on the lower canopy. Grain yield was also higher with the curtain of chains at 6:00 and 9:00 h for the determinate cultivar. Our results showed that using the curtain of chains could improve fungicide droplet deposition on the lower canopy, leading to greater ASR control and possibly increasing yield. However, it is important to consider the plant architecture and hour of application to maximize the benefit of the curtain of chains. Keywords: Canopy opener, Fungicide penetration, Phakopsora pachyrhizi, Plant architecture, Spray deposition.

Increasing and decreasing trends of the atmospheric deposition of organochlorine compounds in European remote areas during the last decade

Bulk atmospheric deposition samples were collected between 2004 and 2007 at four high-altitude European sites encompassing east (Skalnaté Pleso), west (Lochnagar), central (Gossenköllesee) and south (Redòn) regions, and analysed for legacy and current-use organochlorine compounds (OCs). Polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) generally showed the highest deposition fluxes in the four sites, between 112 and 488 ng m−2 mo−1, and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) the lowest, a few ng m−2 mo−1. Among pesticides, endosulfans were found at higher deposition fluxes (11–177 ng m−2 mo−1) than hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) (17–66 ng m−2 mo−1) in all sites except Lochnagar that was characterized by very low fluxes of this insecticide. Comparison of the present measurements with previous determinations in Redòn (1997–1998 and 2001–2002) and Gossenköllesee (1996–1998) provided for the first time an assessment of the long-term temporal trends in OC atmospheric deposition in the European background areas. PCBs showed increasing deposition trends while HCB deposition fluxes remained nearly constant. Re-emission of PCBs from soils or as a consequence of glacier melting and subsequent precipitation and trapping of the volatilized compounds may explain the observed PCB trends. This process does not occur for HCB due to its high volatility which keeps most of this pollutant in the gas phase. A significant decline of pesticide deposition was observed during this studied decade (1996–2006) which is consistent with the restriction in the use of these compounds in most of the European countries. In any case, degassing of HCHs or endosulfans from ice melting to the atmosphere should be limited because of the low Henry's law constants of these compounds that will retain them dissolved in the melted water. Investigation of the relationship between air mass trajectories arriving at each site and OC deposition fluxes showed no correlation for PCBs, which is consistent with diffuse pollution from unspecific sources as the predominant origin of these compounds in these remote sites. In contrast, significant correlations between current-use pesticides and air masses flowing from the south were observed in Gossenköllesee, Lochnagar and Redòn. In the case of Redòn, the higher proportion of air masses from the south occurred in parallel to higher temperatures, which did not allow us to discriminate between these two determinant factors of pesticide deposition. However, in Gossenköllesee and Lochnagar, the relationship between pesticide concentration and southern air masses was univocal, reflecting the impact of regions with intensive agricultural activities.

Increasing and decreasing trends of the atmospheric deposition of organochlorine compounds in European remote areas during the last decade

Bulk atmospheric deposition samples were collected between 2004 and 2007 at four high altitude European sites encompassing east (Skalnaté pleso), west (Lochnagar), central (Gossenköllesee) and south (Redòn) regions, and analysed for legacy and current-use organochlorine compounds (OCs). Polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) generally showed the highest deposition fluxes in the four sites, between 112 and 488 ng m−2 mo−1, and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) the lowest, a few ng m−2 mo−1. Among pesticides, endosulfans were found at higher deposition fluxes (11–177 ng m−2 mo−1) than hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) (17–66 ng m−2 mo−1) in all sites except Lochnagar that was characterized by very low fluxes of this insecticide. Comparison of the present measurements with previous determinations in Redòn (1997–1998 and 2001–2002) and Gossenköllesee (1996–1998) provided for the first time an assessment of the long-term temporal trends in OC atmospheric deposition in the European background areas. PCBs showed increasing deposition trends while HCB deposition fluxes remained nearly constant. Reemission of PCBs from soils or as consequence of glacier melting and subsequent precipitation and trapping of the volatilized compounds may explain the observed PCB trends. This process does not occur for HCB due to its high volatility which keeps most of this pollutant in the gas phase. A significant decline of pesticide deposition was observed during this studied decade (1996–2006) which is consistent with the restriction in the use of these compounds in most of the European countries. In any case, degassing of HCHs or endosulfans from ice melting to the atmosphere should be limited because of the low Henry's law constants of these compounds that will retain them dissolved in the melted water. Investigation of the relationship between air mass trajectories arriving at each site and OC deposition fluxes showed no correlation for PCBs, which is consistent with diffuse pollution from unspecific sources as the predominant origin of these compounds in these remote sites. In contrast, significant correlations between current-use pesticides and air masses flowing from the south were observed in Gossenköllesee, Lochnagar and Redòn. In the case of Redòn, the higher proportion of air masses from the south occurred in parallel to higher temperatures, which did not allow to discriminating between these two determinant factors of pesticide deposition. However, in Gossenköllesee and Lochnagar, the relationship between pesticide concentration and southern air masses was univocal reflecting the impact of regions with intensive agricultural activities.