Exposure risk assessment and evaluation of the best management practice for controlling pesticide runoff from paddy fields. Part 2: model simulation for the herbicide pretilachlor.

BACKGROUND: Monitoring studies revealed high concentrations of pesticides in the drainage canal of paddy fields. It is important to have a way to predict these concentrations in different management scenarios as an assessment tool. A simulation model for predicting the pesticide concentration in a paddy block (PCPF-B) was evaluated and then used to assess the effect of water management practices for controlling pesticide runoff from paddy fields. RESULTS: The PCPF-B model achieved an acceptable performance. The model was applied to a constrained probabilistic approach using the Monte Carlo technique to evaluate the best management practices for reducing runoff of pretilachlor into the canal. The probabilistic model predictions using actual data of pesticide use and hydrological data in the canal showed that the water holding period (WHP) and the excess water storage depth (EWSD) effectively reduced the loss and concentration of pretilachlor from paddy fields to the drainage canal. The WHP also reduced the timespan of pesticide exposure in the drainage canal. CONCLUSIONS: It is recommended that: (1) the WHP be applied for as long as possible, but for at least 7 days, depending on the pesticide and field conditions; (2) an EWSD greater than 2 cm be maintained to store substantial rainfall in order to prevent paddy runoff, especially during the WHP.

Exposure risk assessment and evaluation of the best management practice for controlling pesticide runoff from paddy fields. Part 1: Paddy watershed monitoring.

Rice pesticide concentrations in surface water along with hydrological balance and water management conditions were investigated in a paddy watershed of about 100 ha at the Sakura river basin in Tsukuba, Japan, for 3 years from April 2002. Monitoring on different hydrological scales ranging from a paddy plot up to a watershed determined the importance of water management associated with rainfall events and the cyclic irrigation for reducing pesticide discharge into aquatic environments. Surface drainage significantly increased as a response to rainfall events greater than about 1.5 cm day(-1). A total of 16 herbicides were detected in the stream water and their peak concentrations mostly occurred from early to mid-May following the pesticide application period. Two water management factors influencing the pesticide runoff from paddy fields were defined: excess water storage capacity (EWSC) and water holding period (WHP). Uncertainty analyses of pesticide discharge from a paddy plot for dymron (daimuron) and imazosulfuron (IMS) were performed using Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) with prescribed probability of rainfall and water management practice from observations over a period of 3 years. Application of an intermittent irrigation scheme with shallow water depth practice and high drainage gate to maintain the EWSC > 2 cm and increasing WHP from the current Japanese Agricultural Chemicals Regulation law of 3-4 days to at least 10 days were recommended for reducing the pesticide runoff from paddy fields in a monsoon region such as in Japan. The combination of good water management in field plots and small-scale water cycling is the best management practice for controlling pesticide discharge from paddy watersheds.

Simulation of mefenacet concentrations in paddy fields by an improved PCPF-1 model.

An improved simulation model (PCPF-1) has been evaluated for the prediction of the fate of mefenacet in an experimental paddy field. This model simulates the fate and transport of pesticide in paddy water and the top 1 cm of paddy soil. Observed concentrations of mefenacet in the paddy water and the surface soil exponentially decreased from their maximum concentrations of 0.70 mg litre(-1) and 11.3 mg kg(-1), respectively. Predicted mefenacet concentrations both in the water and surface soil were in excellent agreement with those measured during the first 2 weeks after herbicide application, but concentrations in paddy water were appreciably overestimated thereafter. The model simulated mefenacet losses through runoff, percolation and degradation to be respectively 41.9%, 6.4% and 57.3% of applied, and the mass balance error was about -6%. The model simulation implied that drainage and seepage control, especially shortly after application when herbicide concentrations are high, is essential for preventing pesticide losses from paddy fields. In focusing on pesticide concentrations in this early period the PCPF-1 model can be a beneficial tool for risk assessment of pesticide losses and in the evaluation of agricultural management for reducing pesticide pollution associated with paddy rice production.