Availability of pesticide-treated seed on arable fields

A study of the availability of pesticide-treated seed on arable fields was performed. The research was carried out in three different areas of The Netherlands (soil types ranging between sand and heavy clay) and included the following topics: drilling techniques, soil conditions, location on the field and spillage. The results show that there is a large variation among the various crops in the percentage of seed remaining on the soil surface. This is mainly caused by differences in drilling techniques and soil conditions. The percentage of surface seeds after standard drilling is approximately four times higher than after precision drilling. The best correlation for the impact of soil conditions was found for the overall measure of clod weight. Large differences in seed densities (factor of 3.5) were found between the headland and the field centre. Spillage occured in most crops investigated, with an average of two spills per field. Based on the field data it is recommended to use in the current risk assessment for birds and mammals the following percentages of seed remaining on the soil surface: 0.5% for precision drilling, 3.3% for standard drilling in spring and 9.2% for standard drilling in autumn.