TY - JOUR
T1 - Small-Grain Cover Crops Have Limited Effect on Neonicotinoid Contamination from Seed Coatings
AU - Pearsons, Kirsten A.
AU - Rowen, Elizabeth K.
AU - Elkin, Kyle R.
AU - Wickings, Kyle
AU - Smith, Richard G.
AU - Tooker, John F.
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank Mary Barbercheck, István Mikó, Andy Deans, and Ray Bryant for insights that improved this manuscript. This work was funded in part by USDA AFRI competitive grant # 2017-67013-26258, USDA AFRI competitive grant # 2017-67013-26594, and the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State via the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Hatch Appropriations under Project # PEN04606 and Accession # 1009362.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/4/20
Y1 - 2021/4/20
N2 - Neonicotinoids from insecticidal seed coatings can contaminate soil in treated fields and adjacent areas, posing a potential risk to nontarget organisms and ecological function. To determine if cover crops can mitigate neonicotinoid contamination in treated and adjacent areas, we measured neonicotinoid concentrations for three years in no-till corn-soybean rotations, planted with or without neonicotinoid seed coatings, and with or without small grain cover crops. Although neonicotinoids were detected in cover crops, high early season dissipation provided little opportunity for winter-planted cover crops to absorb significant neonicotinoid residues; small grain cover crops failed to mitigated neonicotinoid contamination in either treated or untreated plots. As the majority of neonicotinoids from seed coatings dissipated shortly after planting, residues did not accumulate in soil, but persisted at concentrations below 5 ppb. Persistent residues could be attributed to historic neonicotinoid use and recent, nearby neonicotinoid use. Tracking neonicotinoid concentrations over time revealed a large amount of local interplot movement of neonicotinoids; in untreated plots, contamination was higher when plots were less isolated from treated plots.
AB - Neonicotinoids from insecticidal seed coatings can contaminate soil in treated fields and adjacent areas, posing a potential risk to nontarget organisms and ecological function. To determine if cover crops can mitigate neonicotinoid contamination in treated and adjacent areas, we measured neonicotinoid concentrations for three years in no-till corn-soybean rotations, planted with or without neonicotinoid seed coatings, and with or without small grain cover crops. Although neonicotinoids were detected in cover crops, high early season dissipation provided little opportunity for winter-planted cover crops to absorb significant neonicotinoid residues; small grain cover crops failed to mitigated neonicotinoid contamination in either treated or untreated plots. As the majority of neonicotinoids from seed coatings dissipated shortly after planting, residues did not accumulate in soil, but persisted at concentrations below 5 ppb. Persistent residues could be attributed to historic neonicotinoid use and recent, nearby neonicotinoid use. Tracking neonicotinoid concentrations over time revealed a large amount of local interplot movement of neonicotinoids; in untreated plots, contamination was higher when plots were less isolated from treated plots.
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U2 - 10.1021/acs.est.0c05547
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.0c05547
M3 - Article
C2 - 33749272
AN - SCOPUS:85104912452
SN - 0013-936X
VL - 55
SP - 4679
EP - 4687
JO - Environmental Science and Technology
JF - Environmental Science and Technology
IS - 8
ER -