Effect of natural windbreaks on drift reduction in orchard spraying

In the Netherlands windbreaks are commonly grown to protect orchards against wind damage and to improve micro-climate. Natural windbreaks of broad-leaved trees can also reduce the risk of surface water contamination caused by spray drift during orchard spraying. Spray drift from pesticide applications is a major concern in the Netherlands, especially drift into water courses. So far, several drift reducing measures have been accepted by water quality control organisations and the Board for the Authorization of Pesticides (CTB), e.g. presence of a windbreak (i.e. 70% drift reduction at early season and 90% drift reduction at full leaf, respectively before and after first of May). From the experiments it was concluded that the risk of drift contamination is high during the early developmental stages of the growing season. The 70% drift reduction at early season as determined in previous experiments, appears to be valid only for windbreaks with a certain degree of developed leaves. At full leaf stage 80-90% drift reduction by the windbreak was measured. The use of evergreen windbreaks or wind-break species that develop in early season can reduce the risk of drift contamination considerably. Also, the combination of drift reducing methods, such as one-sided spraying of the last tree row and a windbreak is an effective method to reduce spray drift in the Netherlands in early season.