New issues in agricultural spraying in Israel

Food and fiber production on relatively small, irrigated plots with high-yielding potential makes the agricultural aircraft a vital tool in Israel's modern agriculture. Extensive preventive measures are carried out to minimize chemical drift and to dispose of chemical wastes. The Civil Aviation Authority is concerned with both pilot fatigue and exposure to toxic chemicals and thus the legal limits of flight time and the medical monitoring methods are enforced. With the introduction of new pesticides, such as the pyrethroids, new medical monitoring methods must be developed. The tables show amounts and kinds of chemicals used on cotton since 1978 and the percentages of various insecticides used on cotton in 1979, 1981, and 1984. Since pyrethroids are of low, short-term mammalian toxicity, can we continue to apply them in increasing amounts without monitoring exposure? Past experience has taught us to treat any pesticide with caution. A method for monitoring exposure to pyrethroids should be introduced.