Assessment and simulation of atrazine in irrigated soils

Abstract

AbstractGroundwater pollution in agricultural areas as a result of the excessive use of fertilizers and herbicides has been a major concern in industrialized countries. This study was conducted to investigate the movement of atrazine through the soil profile, in two different but representative soils of the Sorraia Valley region, Portugal: silty loam and sandy soils. Results from field studies were used to calibrate and evaluate the hydrological and pesticide components of the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM), under irrigated conditions. The RZWQM is effective in simulating plant growth of the maize crop. For both soil types (silty loam and sandy soils) model predictions on soil water content were in agreement with the observed values. During the calibration year, for most of the irrigation events, model predictions of atrazine concentrations were in the same range as the observations. These results indicate that RZWQM can be used, when properly calibrated to simulate the movement of water and atrazine through the soil profile, for Portuguese conditions. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.