Assessment of microbial biocontrol agent (BCA) viability to mechanical and thermal stress by simulating spray application conditions.

BACKGROUND: In order to improve the biological control agent (BCA) efficacy, stress factors threatening the viability of microorganisms during spray application need to be determined. The effect of spray mixture temperature and exposure time on Trichoderma harzianum T 22 and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens QST713 viability were tested. Concurrently the combined effect of mechanical and thermal stress effect on BCA viability were tested at two initial spray mixture temperatures (14 and 25 °C) by simulating a spray application using airblast sprayers featured by different tank capacity and a spray liquid circuit (without and with hydraulic agitation system). To assess the BCA microorganism viability, spray mixture samples were collected at time intervals along trials and plated to count the colony forming units (CFU). RESULTS: The critical temperature threshold that inhibited BCA viability was 35 °C with 30 min of exposure. The sprayer type, the initial temperature of the spray mixture and the temperature increment during the trials significantly decreased the number of CFU recovered. When simulating a spray application, the spray mixture temperature increase rate was determined mainly by the residual amount of spray mixture in the tank. Even if the tank capacity does not substantially affect the final temperature reached by the spray mixture, the higher residual spray mixture in bigger tanks can expose the BCAs for a longer time to critical temperatures. CONCLUSIONS: Experimental trials allowed us to identify the effect of factors affecting the viability of tested BCAs, providing information about the actual chance to guarantee the biological efficacy of BCA treatments. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Characterization of irrigator emitter to be used as solid set canopy delivery system: which is best for which role in the vineyard?

BACKGROUND: The timely and flexible treatment of solid set canopy delivery systems (SSCDS) is expanding. Laboratory and field trials were conducted to evaluate the performance of three different irrigators (Pulsar™ system and nozzle combination), typically used in anti-frost and irrigation in vineyards/apple orchards, for plant protection product (PPP) delivery in a Guyot-trained trellised vineyard. RESULTS: Results showed that irrigator setups perform best when matched to the task-flat fan emitters for horizontal spray application (canopy top) and circular emitters for middle and low canopy application. A combination configuration of a double-sided flat fan and circular emitter system was indicated as the best option for homogenous coverage and minimal ground losses. CONCLUSION: The tested emitters hold promise for SSCDS delivery of PPPs in vineyards. Further validation of the alternative use of this technology is warranted. © 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Boom sprayer optimizations for bed-grown carrots at different growth stages based on spray distribution and droplet characteristics.

BACKGROUND: Pesticide losses and uneven spray distribution should be avoided as much as possible as they reduce the effectiveness of spraying and increase environmental contamination as well as costs. Within the H2020-project OPTIMA the goal is to develop a smart sprayer for bed-grown carrots, including optimizations such as air support and variable nozzle spacing. This paper focuses on selecting the most optimal nozzle types, spacing and height for spraying bed-grown crops, while taking into account different target zone widths depending on the growth stage, based on spray distribution and droplet characterization measurements. RESULTS: The results indicate that four bed spray configurations consisting of four nozzles per bed, i.e. XR8004/XR8004/XR8004/XR8004, AIUB8504/AI11004/AI11004/AIUB8504, AI8004/AI8004/AI8004/AI8004 and XR8002/XR8002/XR8002/XR8002, spraying at 300 kPa and recalculated to 12.0 km h-1 forward speed, are appropriate for spraying different target zone widths (ranging from 1.2 to 2.2 m) with high uniformity (CV < 12%) and minimal losses out of the target zone (<17%) when applied at the most appropriate nozzle spacing and height (varying from 0.35 to 0.65 m). Droplet characterization measurements showed that for the same nozzle size and spray pressure, air inclusion nozzles produced larger but slower droplets than standard flat-fan nozzles. Air support increased the droplet velocities but had only a very limited effect on droplet size. CONCLUSION: Laboratory spray distribution and droplet characterization measurements allowed selection of the most optimal nozzle type, spacing and height for bed spray applications in terms of reduced pesticide losses compared to conventional broadcast applications. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Soil PM10 emission potential under specific mechanical stress and particles characteristics.

Soil can be resuspended in the atmosphere due to wind or mechanical disturbances, such as agricultural activities (sowing, tilling, etc.), producing fine particulate matter (PM). Agriculture is estimated to be the third PM10-emitting sector in Europe, emitting more than the transportation sector. However, very few emission figures are available for the different cropping operations. Moreover, soil Emission Potential (EP) is extremely variable, since is influenced by factors such as humidity, texture, chemical composition, and wind speed. Due to their similarity to tilling emission mechanisms, Soil Resuspension Chambers (SRC) are the most suitable method to estimate the impacts of these factors on soil susceptibility to emit PM10 during cropping operations (Emission Potential, EP). The main objective of this work is to assess the EP of different agricultural soils used for maize cropping in North-Western Italy, studying the influence of soil moisture and physico-chemical characteristics. Therefore, a SRC was developed, based on previous studies, with the goal of being relatively small, easy to operate and low-cost. Using the gathered data, a log-linear multiple regression model was developed to allow soil EP estimation from few physico-chemical parameters (moisture, sand/silt ratio and organic carbon content). The model allows to tailor field Emission Factors (EF) of specific cropping operations to different soil and moisture conditions and was applied to an EF for rotary harrowing, defined in a previous study. The concentration of Potentially Toxic Elements (PTE) in soil-emitted PM10 was determined, founding an enrichment up to 16 times higher than in the original soil, evidencing a possible cause of concern for operator's safety during agricultural activities.

Evaluation of particulate matter (PM10) emissions and its chemical characteristics during rotary harrowing operations at different forward speeds and levelling bar heights.

Particulate matter (PM) is an air pollutant which poses a considerable risk to human health. The agricultural sector is responsible of the 15% of the total anthropogenic emissions of PM10 (PM fraction with aerodynamic diameter below 10 µm) and soil preparation activities have been recognized as one of the main drivers of this contribution. The emission factors (EF) proposed by European environmental agency (EEA) for tilling operations are based on very few studies, none of which has been made in Italy. Moreover, few studies have considered the influence of operative parameters on PM10 emissions during tilling. The aim of this work was to assess PM10 emission and dispersion during rotary harrowing and to understand how operative parameters, such as forward speed and implement choice may affect PM release. A further objective was to assess the near field dispersion of PM10 to address exposure risks. Emission factors (EFs) were determined during two different trials (T1 and T2). During T1, the effect of tractor speeds (0.6, 1.1 and 1.7 m s-1) on PM10 emissions was investigated, while in T2 a comparative essay was made to study the influence of levelling bar height on emissions. The average ground level downwind concentrations of PM10 during harrowing operation was estimated through dispersion modelling. The observed PM10 EFs for rotary harrowing were 8.9 ± 2.0 mg m-2 and 9.5 ± 2.5 mg m-2 on T1 and T2, respectively. The heavy metal content of soil-generated PM10 was also assessed. In the generated PM, the elemental concentrations were higher than ones in soil. As, Cd and Ni concentration levels, determined in PM10 near to the tractor path, were also high, being several times higher than the annual average regulatory threshold levels in ambient air, as defined by the European regulation.

Field assessment of a newly-designed pneumatic spout to contain spray drift in vineyards: evaluation of canopy distribution and off-target losses.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy and environmental sustainability of pesticide application largely depend on maximizing target coverage, while minimizing off-target losses. Recently, laboratory-based measurements were used to develop new cannon-type spout to increase the droplet size spectra produced by a pneumatic vineyard sprayer. The study described below evaluated the effectiveness of the new device to reduce off-target losses (both in-field and off-field ground losses), and to distribute an adequate canopy spray. Field trials were conducted to measure canopy spray deposition, canopy coverage, and off-target losses from a multiple-row pneumatic sprayer equipped with newly-designed spout under three different positional configurations. The configurations were defined by the variation of liquid release positions from the inner to the outer part of the cannon-type spout: conventional, alternative, and extreme. Each configuration was tested in a vineyard by applying a solution of water and yellow-dye tracer. RESULTS: It was confirmed that the increased droplet size corresponding to the alternative and extreme liquid release positions has no effect on total canopy deposition or coverage. The alternative and extreme configurations produced reduced off-field losses, up to 75% and 83%, respectively, by increasing the droplet size spectra. These reduced off-field losses imply increased in-field losses of 13% and 16%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The newly-designed pneumatic spout offers the first effective option for environmentally-friendly pneumatic spray pesticide application with the guarantee of canopy spray deposition and coverage levels similar to those obtained with conventional pneumatic application. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Spray performance assessment of a remote-controlled vehicle prototype for pesticide application in greenhouse tomato crops.

Intensive horticultural production is a sector seeking to provide high-quality foods by means of safe and sustainable procedures in compliance with regulations. This requires improvements in the spraying technologies since currently plant protection products are applied by means of hand-held equipment due to its lower cost and easy maintenance. In order to fulfil these requirements, a remote-controlled vehicle prototype (ROBOT SPRAY) was used. After optimizing the spray profile and the air assistance system of the "ROBOT SPRAY" sprayer in laboratory, its performance using two different nozzle sets (full cone and hollow cone) with and without air assistance was compared with those of a spray gun in a greenhouse tomato crop. The spray deposition on canopy, spray coverage and losses to soil were assessed. The "ROBOT SPRAY" provided better penetration and coverage on the underside of the leaves while no improvement was shown with the use of air assistance. Overall, a higher spray deposition was observed for the full cone nozzles when compared to hollow cone nozzles.

Toward a new method to classify the airblast sprayers according to their potential drift reduction: comparison of direct and new indirect measurement methods.

BACKGROUND: Drift is one of the most important issues to consider for realising sustainable pesticide sprays. This study proposes an alternative indirect methodology for comparative measurements of drift reduction potential (DRP) generated by airblast sprayers, aimed at overcoming the practical inconveniences and drawbacks of standardized ISO 22866:2005. A test bench in the absence of target crop and wind was employed to measure drift potential values (DPVs). A variation to the proposed method that introduced a crop between sprayer and test bench device was considered to study the canopy effect (absence/presence) and to validate the method. In parallel, direct spray drift measurements (ISO 22866) were performed to obtain the drift value (DV). A representative vineyard airblast sprayer was evaluated in four configurations (a combination of two fan airflow rates and two nozzle types). The configurations tested under the three methods (direct and indirects) were classified according to achieved drift reduction percentages (ISO 22369-1:2013) and compared. RESULTS: Indirect methods discriminated DPVs from different nozzles (conventional, air induction) and fan airflow rate (high, low) combinations. Indirect methods also showed that despite crop influence on drift amount, target absence has a negligible effect when used specifically for DRP determination/classification. In fact, identical DRP final classifications were achieved for the two methodologies tested. Alternatively, all tested configurations resulted in lower DR values following the ISO 22866 field method, which caused different final classifications due to the high dependence of results on external factors. CONCLUSIONS: The alternative test bench methodology, characterized by the absence of target crop and calm of wind, was considered feasible for comparative measurements of airblast sprayer DRP. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Assessing the influence of air speed and liquid flow rate on the droplet size and homogeneity in pneumatic spraying.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of treatments in vineyards largely depends on the necessary balance between leaf coverage and spray drift and, therefore, knowledge about droplet size is of major importance, but scarce scientific information is available on pneumatic spraying, often adopted in this crop. The objective of this work was to obtain the relationships between the droplet size spectra characterization parameters and the main affecting factors in pneumatic nozzles. RESULTS: Three liquid flow rates (LFR) and four air speeds (AS) were combined in laboratory conditions to assess their influence on the droplet size spectra (D10, D50 and D90), homogeneity (Relative Span Factor, RSF) and driftability (V100 ) in two different air shear nozzles (cannon-type and hand-type nozzles). The droplet size parameters were significantly affected by LFR and AS, and a model was fitted to predict droplet size in every spout type. The droplet V100 was also affected by both factors. The RSF was similar in both cases but did not follow regular trends. CONCLUSIONS: The findings obtained can help vineyard farmers and technicians to effectively increase the efficiency and, therefore, the efficacy of the pesticide treatments reducing at the same time the spray drift risk by selecting appropriately the optimal values of the main operational parameters: LFR and AS. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Dust drift reduction effect of an air conveyor kit (dual-pipe deflector) mounted on different maize pneumatic drills.

BACKGROUND: All maize drills produce a fine dust due to the seed coating abrasions that occur inside the seeding element. The air stream generated by the fan of pneumatic drills - necessary to create a depression in the sowing element of the machine and to guarantee correct seed deposition - can blow away the solid particles detached from the seeds. In order to reduce this phenomenon, a coated maize seeds company (Syngenta®) has set up an ad hoc dual-pipe deflector kit that easily fits different pneumatic drills (also old drills). In this study, the efficiency of this kit and the influence of different drill types on the kit's performance in reducing environmental pollution were evaluated using three different pneumatic seed drill models. RESULTS: The research showed that a dual-pipe deflector installed on a drill in standard configuration did not change the seeder performance, and by using this kit on pneumatic drills, irrespective of their design, it is possible to reduce by up to 69% the amount of dust drift in comparison with the conventional machine set-up. CONCLUSION: The dual-pipe deflector, under the conditions employed in the present experiments, showed good performance with all types of maize pneumatic drill used. Irrespective of the seeder model on which it is mounted, it is able to obtain similar results, indicating its high operational versatility. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effect of sprayer settings on spray drift during pesticide application in poplar plantations (Populus spp.).

This study assessed spray drift generated by sprayer settings commonly used for pesticide application in poplar plantations (Populus spp.). Tests were conducted per the ISO 22866 methodology using a mounted air-assisted sprayer (Tifone VRP600) equipped with a swivel-cannon air conveyor (model Cannone 50S). Trials evaluated sprayer settings, combinations of nozzle types, airflow rates, and air direction in both adult and young poplar plantations. Overall, spray drift amounts registered downwind of poplar plantations were less than those obtained to derive reference drift curves during the EU Plant Protection Product registration process that used late-growth-stage fruit crops. In the adult poplar plantation, Venturi nozzles (TVI 8004 red) yielded the highest drift reductions compared to reference sprayer setting, especially at distances farthest from the sprayed area (86% between 40 and 47m). Highest total drift reductions were achieved when conventional nozzles (1.81mm ceramic disc-core) were combined with their spray direction modified for an inclined cannon spray unit. Alternatively, the young poplar plantation showed no drift reduction for distances farthest from the sprayed area, regardless of sprayer settings, which likely resulted from lower foliage density and widely-spaced rows. Yet, both Venturi nozzles combined with high fan flow rates and conventional nozzles combined with reduced fan flow rate showed total spray drift reductions of over 70% within the downwind sampling area. These experimental results represent the first set of data on spray drift amounts in poplar plantations, which is key for defining the reference curves and best practices to reduce spray drift in tall tree plantations.

Potential external contamination of pneumatic seed drills during sowing of dressed maize seeds.

BACKGROUND: The use of pneumatic drills in maize cultivation causes dispersion in the atmosphere of some harmful substances normally used for dressing maize seeds. Some of the dust particles may be deposited on the machine's body, becoming dangerous for the environment and for operators. The aim of the present study was to analyse the amount of dust deposited on the frame of drills during maize sowing operations. Tests were performed with different drills and in different operating conditions. RESULTS: Data analysis showed that a significant amount (up to 30%) of the tracer can be deposited on the drill body. When wind was not present, higher quantities of tracer were collected and the forward speed did not influence significantly the tracer deposit on the seed drills. The use of different devices designed to prevent dust dispersion was able to limit up to 95% but was not able to eliminate the external contamination of the drill. CONCLUSION: The particles present on drills could become a problem for the operator during the filling of the drill. Additionally, the environment can be contaminated if pesticide remains on the drill, generating point-source pollution when the drill is parked outside. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Acidification of pig slurry before separation to improve slurry management on farms.

Pig slurry, rich in plant nutrients such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), is generally applied to soil as organic fertilizer. However, costs related to slurry transport may limit its utilization to fields close to the farm, leading to significant N losses, namely ammonia (NH3) emissions. Slurry acidification, to minimize NH3 emissions, is a potential solution to this problem, while solid-liquid separation leads to a solid fraction (SF) - rich in organic matter (OM) and phosphorus - and a liquid fraction (LF) rich in soluble nutrients. We hypothesized that a combination of acidification and separation could affect the quality of the resulting fractions depending on the separation technique used. After acidification, the two most common techniques for separation, centrifugation (CF) and screw-press (SP), were applied. The main characteristics of the slurry fractions in terms of nutrient concentrations and speciation as well as the potential N mineralization (PNM) were analysed. Our results show SFs with improved properties, mostly N and PNM when acidification is performed before separation with both techniques. The PNM was significantly increased in LFs from both techniques after acidification. The [Formula: see text] concentration increased in LFs from SP with acidification; therefore, slurry acidification is recommended to avoid any N losses during the separation process with SP, while CF may not require such pretreatment. Acidification could allow the use of a cheaper technique such as SP relative to CF since it prevents NH3 emissions during the separation process and leads to more equilibrated fractions in terms of nutrient composition.

Environmentally Optimised Sprayer (EOS)--A software application for comprehensive assessment of environmental safety features of sprayers.

Despite technological progress in pesticide application equipment, chemical crop protection continues to contribute to environmental pollution. Water is at risk of contamination with pesticides from point and diffuse sources and could be reduced to a great extent with a better sprayer design. The sprayer manufacturers and pesticide applicators need to take more responsibility for the prevention of water pollution and therefore they have to make environmentally responsible decisions at different stages, from designing to servicing sprayers. The objective of the presented work was to develop an interactive application that would support decisions made by sprayer manufacturers during the production process, and by pesticide applicators when selecting and operating the sprayers. The EOS (Environmentally Optimised Sprayer) is an application evaluating the risk mitigation potential of sprayers based on their technological features, within five risk areas, representing sources of pollution: (i) Inside Contamination; (ii) Outside Contamination; (iii) Filling; (iv) Spray Loss & Drift; (v) Remnants. The evaluator completes the EOS questionnaire by checking for the technical solutions identified in the evaluated sprayer and the result reflects the sprayer quality in terms of potential environmental risk mitigation. The EOS tool also proved its awareness raising facility and educative value when used during training activities and university courses.

A floating coverage system for digestate liquid fraction storage.

Anaerobic digestion is booming in the nations of Europe. In fact, Italy alone has approximately 500 plants in operation or in some phase of start-up. Previous studies have made evident the potential that lies in digested manure residual biogas. Nevertheless, much of the potential goes unrealized when enormous amounts of digestate are produced, but are then stored in uncovered tanks. This research work designed, constructed, and tested a low-cost digestate storage tank cover system capable of abating CO2eq atmospheric emissions and then recovering the biogas. The experiment, carried out at a 1 MW electric anaerobic digestion plant, demonstrated that collecting the residual biogas from the digested liquid fraction storage tank made it possible to avoid atmospheric emissions of up to 1260t CO2eq annually and to increase the methane yield of the installation by 3%.