Effect of water table management on the fate of the pesticide aldicarb

The fate of agricultural chemicals applied to cultivated fields with subsurface drains is an environmental concern. The transport of the pesticide aldicarb in the soil and groundwater in an agricultural field with subsurface drains was simulated using the computer model VS2DT. A Portsmouth soil from Plymouth, North Carolina, was simulated with five water table management treatments - conventional or free drainage, controlled drainage, subirrigation, free drainage with surface irrigation, and controlled drainage with surface irrigation. Five drain spacings, 15.2, 22.8, 30.4, 38.1, and 45.7 m, were investigated. Two aldicarb degradation rates, 7- and 30-day half life, were simulated. Free drainage with surface irrigation produced the highest predicted aldicarb losses for all drain spacings while the controlled drainage treatment without surface irrigation consistently resulted in the lowest amount of aldicarb lost through tile outflow. 1996 American Society of Agricultural Engineers.

Effect of water table management on the fate of the pesticide aldicarb Academic Article