Research on the Mitigation of Environmental Pollution by Pesticides Due to Spray Drift by Agricultural Sprayers and Unmanned Aerial Spraying Systems

While essential for meeting technological and economical requirements in modern agriculture, it has been shown that plant protection products do not always reach the intended target, so these chemicals contaminate ecosystems through runoff, leaching, and ambient air transport and deposition. Ambient air transport of pesticides relates mainly with spray drift (off-target displacement of pesticide droplets through the air) from agricultural spraying equipment (that involves ground sprayers and unmanned aerial spraying systems – UASS) is a major concern of pesticide pollution. The paper studies the research status on pesticide pollution by spray drift and shows methods, techniques and practices used for its mitigation during pesticide applications by agricultural sprayers and UASS, through comprehensive analysis of the available scientific literature, legal framework, regulations, and international standards on the topic. The analysis show that a synergistic approach is the way to go, being highly efficient to provide built-in features for drift control, integration of precision agriculture capabilities, continuous weather monitoring and optimization, proper pesticide formulation (and the use of drift mitigation adjuvants), field management practices, operational best practices, proper regulatory framework and continuous training and certification.