Abstract

MOJICA, Andrea  and  GUERRERO, Jairo A. Evaluation of pesticide movement towards tota lake catchment, Colombia. Rev.Colomb.Quim. [online]. 2013, vol.42, n.2, pp.29-38. ISSN 0120-2804.

The Tota lake catchment is a major onion-producing area in Colombia. Conventional agricultural practices use pesticides to control diseases that attack the crop, and in onion- production in this area fungicides are most commonly used due to the Paramo weather conditions and its location, 3015 meters above sea level (masl). These factors are conducive to the proliferation of fungi in the soil and in crops. In order to evaluate the movement of pesticides to Lake Tota, water samples and suspended sediments were taken for seven months in several channels that traverse the area and flow into the lake. In surface waters, malathion, tebuconazole, difenoconazole and chlorothalonil were detected and even quantified in some samples. In suspended sediments, malathion was detected at concentrations between 1.90 mg/kg and 4.38 mg/kg, and chlorothalonil ranged from 0.27 mg/kg to 1.29 mg/kg. To determine concentrations of fungicides in surface water closer to the source water samples from a runoff plot located in the study area were monitored for tebuconazole and difenoconazole. In dissolved form, tebuconazole was found at aconcentration of 4800 ng/L and difenoconazole at a concentration of 330ng/L. ThePesticide Impact Rating Index (PIRI) was used to assess the risk of surface water contamination by pesticides commonly used in onion production. Index values indicating high to very high risk of surface water contamination were found for tebuconazole, malathion and chlorothalonil. These results agree with the experimental evaluations.

Keywords : Runoff; pesticides; surface water; sediments; Lake Tota; catchment.

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