Minimising off-site movement of contaminants in furrow irrigation using polyacrylamide (PAM). I. Pesticides
Danielle P. Oliver A B and Rai S. Kookana AA CSIRO Land and Water, PMB 2 Glen Osmond, SA 5081, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: Danni.Oliver@csiro.au
Australian Journal of Soil Research 44(6) 551-560 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR05197
Submitted: 4 December 2005 Accepted: 30 May 2006 Published: 15 September 2006
Abstract
Off-site movement of pesticides from furrow-irrigated agriculture has been a concern in the Ord River Irrigation Area, Western Australia. After consultation with growers a range of management strategies were tested to assess the effectiveness of various practices to minimise off-site movement of pesticides during irrigation. This paper reports on the effectiveness of the additions of high molecular weight, anionic, polyacrylamide (PAM) to irrigation water to minimise off-site movement of endosulfan, chlorothalonil, bupirimate, and atrazine. Water leaving from 4 separate irrigation bays, which consisted of 25 furrows per irrigation bay (Expt 1) or 39 furrows per irrigation bay (Expt 2), was monitored over time. The average concentration of endosulfan α and β and bupirimate leaving the irrigation bays for the duration of the single irrigation event was generally always less for the PAM-treated irrigation bays than the control (control treatment). The addition of PAM to the irrigation water significantly decreased the cumulative runoff losses (g) of total endosulfan by 54% from 11.41 to 5.19 g/ha (P < 0.05), and of chlorothalonil by 49% from 53.65 to 27.32 g/ha (P < 0.001). There was no statistical difference in the load of atrazine or bupirimate leaving either treatment. Although the addition of PAM to irrigation water effectively decreased the off-site movement of 2 fairly strongly sorbed pesticides, endosulfan and chlorothalonil, it did not decrease the total load moving off-site of the more weakly sorbed pesticides, bupirimate and atrazine. The addition of PAM as a liquid to irrigation water was not found to increase the infiltration of a soluble pesticide, atrazine, into the soil profile. The mode of application of PAM, however, may affect water infiltration and hence vertical movement of soluble pesticides and requires further investigation.
Additional keywords: bupirimate, endosulfan, chlorothalonil, atrazine.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Ord Bonaparte Program and growers from the Ord Irrigation Area. Thanks to Gary Ramsay of Barnyard Trading for providing the PAM pucks. Thanks to Dave Menzel for allowing us to use his farm for this experiment and his help with the experiment, to Dick Pasfield, Ord Land and Water, for coordinating our requests with the growers, organising the paddock, and helping with sampling, and to Leith Bowyer and Duncan Palmer, WA Department of Environment for helping with collection of the flow data from the Doppler flow meter. Thanks to the staff at the Frank Wise Institute, especially Tony Tully, who allowed us access to their facilities and laboratory space for processing the samples. Thanks to Dr Nigel Fleming for his help with flow data, to Dr Guang-Guo Ying for confirming the compounds using GC-MS, and to Julie Smith for technical help.
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