Proposal of an inspection methodology for pneumatic drills

In recent years the contribution of pneumatic drills to the dispersion in the environment of insecticides particles derived from the abrasion of dressed seeds has been studied and different devices aimed at reducing the dust drift have been proposed. The European Directive 128/09 on the sustainable use of pesticides aims to achieve a more sustainable use of pesticides and introduces the compulsory inspection of equipment for pesticide application. At the present time, an official methodology to inspect both new and in use drills and the effectiveness of drift reducing devices is still lacking. The aim of the paper is to present a simplified methodology that can be applied to periodical inspection of the above mentioned equipment. Such a methodology has been elaborated basing on the results of a three-year activity, carried out at CRA-ING within the APENET research project.