The effects of temperature, humidity and rainfall on captan decline on apple leaves and fruit in controlled environment conditions.

BACKGROUND: Captan is an important fungicide for controlling diseases in horticultural crops. Predicting its dissipation is important for estimating dietary risks and optimising pesticide application. Experiments were conducted to determine the relationship of captan loss on apple leaves with temperature, humidity and rainfall, and to investigate captan loss on fruit in dry conditions. RESULTS: There was large unit-to-unit variability in captan residues in spite of the controlled application. Temperature and humidity had negligible effects on captan loss. Captan loss is predominately due to washoff by rain, although a certain proportion of captan may bind to the plant surface tightly and hence may not be readily removed by rain. About 50% of captan can be washed off by as little as 1 mm of rain after an application, and the loss appeared not to relate to the amount of rain. Under dry conditions, daily loss of captan is estimated to be around 1% on both fruit and leaves, giving a half-life of ca 70 days. CONCLUSIONS: Captan loss on leaf and fruit surfaces is primarily due to rain washoff.

The temporal pattern of captan residues on apple leaves and fruit under field conditions in relation to weather and canopy structure.

BACKGROUND: Captan is an important fungicide for controlling diseases in horticultural crops. Understanding its dissipation is important for estimating dietary risks and optimising pesticide application. Field experiments were conducted on apple leaves and fruit to investigate (1) the temporal variability of captan residues, (2) the contribution of several factors to the variability in residues and (3) the relationship between residues and climatic conditions. RESULTS: Initial captan deposits and subsequent residues on fruit and leaves were closer to a lognormal than to a normal distribution. The unit-to-unit variation contributed most to the observed variability in the initial deposit and subsequent residues. Variability due to orchards or trees or tree-zone interactions was also frequently important, but there was no discernable trend in the effects. The variability in residues did not appear to decrease over time. Canopy structure affected greatly the initial deposition but had little direct effect on subsequent captan loss. Fruit and leaves on the outside of the tree canopy received more deposit than those on the inside, but these differences gradually decreased over time. Captan loss resulted mainly from the first rainfall after an application. CONCLUSIONS: Captan loss is mainly due to rain, and the loss is negligible under dry conditions.