Another one bites the dust (if it wants to...)
Until 2008, abrasive dust generated during seeding with pneumatic drilling equipment was a minor issue for the environment and did not overly concern regulatory bodies. However, everything changed in spring of that year due to the honeybee intoxication in the Rhine valley.
It was the most serious intoxication ever registered in Germany; 750 beekeepers noted losses and 11,500 colonies were damaged. Subsequently abrasive dust from seed treatments became a priority issue. This opened up a totally new field for risk mitigation measures and risk evaluation. The first tangible sign was the requirement of additional equipment for the pneumatic single seed driller to reduce the amount of dust spread during drilling.
Also a large number of trials were performed to measure the amount of active ingredient in the dust generated during drilling.
Additionally, it became important to estimate the effect of the abrasive dust on the pollinators, especially honeybees, and other non-target arthropods, that might be affected.
The trials to measure dust are now highly standardized with passive 2D and 3D samplers giving the first indication on what amount of dust is to be expected during drilling of different kinds of seeds. The final aim of the trials is a drift table for abrasive dust comparable to spray drift. EAS has been involved in a wide variety of trials with different application equipment and different seeds.
In some of the first studies, abrasive dust was either applied via wind drift during drilling of an adjacent field or applied with different methods over a small area. Both approaches have their limitations.
At EAS EcoChem a third method has been developed...
A dust applicator was built that is able to distribute abrasive dust mixed with a carrier substance over areas of up to several ha. For the first time, the application method makes it possible to apply abrasive dust with a constant rate over a large area, largely independent of the wind conditions. Thus, giving the honey bees and the non-target arthropods the possibility to come in contact with abrasive dust particles or so to speak “to bite the dust”.
For more information, contact Silvio Knaebe
