Spray drift reduction techniques for vineyards in fragmented landscapes

In intensive agricultural systems spray drift is one of the major potential diffuse pollution pathways for pesticides and poses a risk to the environment. There is also increasing concern about potential exposure to bystanders and passers-by, especially in fragmented landscapes like the Italian pre-Alps, where orchards and vineyards are surrounded by residential houses. There is thus an urgent need to do field measurements of drift generated by air-blast sprayer in vineyards, and to develop measures for its reduction (mitigation). A field experiment with an "event method" was conducted in north-eastern Italy in no-wind conditions, in the hilly area famed for Prosecco wine production, using an air-blast sprayer in order to evaluate the potential spray drift from equipment and the effectiveness of some practical mitigation measures, either single or in combination. A definition of mitigation is proposed, and a method for the calculation of total effectiveness of a series of mitigation measures is applied to some what-if scenarios of interest. Results show that low-drift equipment reduced potential spray drift by 38% and that a fully developed vine curtain mitigated it by about 70%; when the last row was treated without air-assistance mitigation was about 74%; hedgerows were always very effective in providing mitigation of up to 98%. In conclusion, spray drift is not inevitable and can be markedly reduced using a few mitigation measures, most already available to farmers, that can be strongly recommended for environmental regulatory schemes and community-based participatory research.