Quantification of pesticide residues in the topsoil of Belgian fruit orchards: terrestrial environmental risk assessment

Abstract

BACKGROUND Pesticides are widely used in fruit orchards. In the context of integrated pest management (IPM) Flemish farmers are advised to restrict the use of pesticides. However, pesticide residues could still pose a threat to beneficial organisms. To date, it is not well known which residues are present in IPM orchards. This study focuses on the pesticide concentration in the topsoil and the implications for soil‐dwelling organisms. RESULTS Topsoil was sampled in ten sweet cherry (Prunus avium (L.) L.) and eight apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) orchards in Flanders (Belgium), to quantify the concentration of pesticide residues. Topsoil was selected because it is a major exposure route for beneficials. Both pesticides from both current spraying schedules and those used previously were found. In addition, an environmental risk assessment was performed using species sensitivity distribution (SSD) and toxicity/exposure ratio (TER) approaches. The SSD approach led to a more conservative outcome. None of the pesticides in the spraying schedule revealed a risk, although some of the persistent and banned pesticides may continue to do so. CONCLUSION Spraying schedules are good predictors of environmental contamination. Monitoring of residues remains essential to determine the real residue concentration in the topsoil. SSDs proved valuable. It was inferred that in addition to the standard test with the earthworm Eisenia fetida (Savigny, 1826), an arthropod test organism such as Folsomia candida (Willem, 1902) should be used in future risk assessments because it displays higher sensitivity towards insecticides.

Pesticides used in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) cultivation in Cuba: toxicological and ecotoxicological pressure

“…In addition, another 16 compounds (27 %) are in the moderately hazardous category (II). The 37 % of the products show some degree of toxicity to bees; this constitutes an important environmental risk factor, which can lead to a decrease in bee populations and thus to a decrease in the role of bees in ecosystems (Claus et al, 2021;Claus & Spanoghe, 2020;Fevery et al, 2016). It is also observed that 71 % of the a.i., have some degree of toxicity in fish.…”

“…The solvent change is different in the samples for liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry detector (LC-MS/MS) compared to gas chromatography with electron capture detector (GC-ECD) (Claus & Spanoghe, 2020). In the case of LC-MS/MS 1 mL is taken from the top layer of the tube is added to a 10 mL volumetric vial; 9 mL of Milli-Q water is added to the 10 mL vial.…”

Insecticide Residues Associated with Apple Orchard Treatments in the Mason Bee, Osmia cornifrons, and their Nests

“…These are possibly residues of insecticides applied more than 2 years ago, for which we could not find application records. Indeed, Claus and Spanoghe (2020) found both current and previous sprayed pesticides in the topsoil of sweet cherry and apple orchards. Applied insecticides are lost from the soil surface to the atmosphere with evaporation of water, photolysis, and hydrolysis, and into the soil, where they are degraded by soil microorganisms (Fenner et al, 2013; Kobayashi, 2000), but the speed of this process varied among insecticides as well as the soil types.…”

Species Sensitivity Distributions (SSD) in de risicobeoordeling van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen : verkenning van het gebruik voor terrestrische niet doelwit arthropoden en bodem organismen

“…Aangezien er in een recente studie uit de EPA ECOTOX-database voor acht pesticiden SSD's zijn gecreëerd voor bodemorganismen op basis van LC50-waardes (Claus et al, 2020), zouden deze type eindpunten een keuze kunnen zijn voor herziene samenvoeging van eindpunten met NTA-soorten. Het filteren op NOEC-of NOEL-eindpunten lijkt een verruiming van de beschikbare NTA-soorten te hebben opgeleverd ten opzichte van eindpunten op basis van 50%-effect, maar lijkt voor meerdere stoffen een beperking te zijn om voldoende eindpunten voor bodemfauna te verkrijgen.…”