Improved soil fumigants exposure-related data and mitigation measures efficacy of different fumigation strategy and techniques

Pressure exerted by soil-borne plant pathogens in some area for certain high value crops is a problem of growing concerns. Several approaches have been considered for their control but the dependance on chemicals products to assure food security (and also food safety) still exist and recently, especially for root-knot nematodes and cyst nematodes, this issue is no longer confined to southern areas but is also emerging in some areas of northern Europe. Fumigation is an activity to control such pathogens, but fumigant products may pose humans and environmental safety concerns and must be properly managed to maintain a sustainable intensification of production. This aspect must also be reconciled with the ambitious goals of the EC objectives. To balance the importance of the contribution of chemical pesticides to food security and social need of chemical pesticides use reduction required, integrated nematods management strategies, taking into account the mitigation measures considered to reduce exposure risk are fundamental. Within this framework, exposure assessment is a critical component and the lack of EU soil fumigants specific guidance on exposure and risk assessment, has resulted in regulatory uncertainty. As an example, (i) pesticides applied as soil fumigants are very volatile and FOCUS GW models are not able to simulate adequately the volatilization from the soil surface and (ii) the mitigation measures, that focused on developing fumigation methods using low-permeability tarps, including totally impermeable film (TIF) or (iii) contex specific application technics/strategies, as soil moisture management, that might have a relevant impact on potential exposure need to be considered during the risk assessment and decision making. In this work improved fumigants exposure-related data and mitigation measures efficacy of different fumigation strategy and techniques are provided to support both the identification of proper models input data both the ongoing national and international strategies for a proper adoption of soil fumigation procedures that might significantly increase fumigant efficacy having potential beneficial effects on fumigant air emissions and breakdown residues, and necessary to reach the level of exposure reduction set at the EU level