<p>Soil residual herbicides are a vital component of the best management practices (BMPs), to provide early-season weed control in most cropping systems. The availability of a biologically effective dose of a soil residual herbicide in the soil solution is dependent on several soil parameters including soil texture, organic matter (OM), and pH.  Soil residual herbicides are currently applied as a uniform application rate over an individual field; yet soil properties can vary spatially within agricultural fields. Therefore, areas of the field are being over- and under-applied when using a uniform application rate. By integrating variable-rate (VR) technology with soil residual herbicides, the correct rate could be applied based on the intra-field soil variability. However, the extent of spatial soil variability within a field and the impact on herbicide application rates has not been well-characterized to inform whether soil residual herbicide applications should move towards variable rate applications. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to 1) determine the extent of intra-field variability of soil texture and organic matter in ten commercial Indiana fields, 2) quantify the reliability of five different combinations of spatial soil data sources, 3) determine the impact of soil sample intensity on map development and the classification accuracy for VR applications of soil residual herbicides, 4) quantify the impact of VR herbicide application on the total amount and spatial accuracy of herbicide applied according to product labels, and 5) determine if the intensive spatial characterization of soil properties is related to weed seedbank abundance and species richness to improve predictive weed management using soil residual herbicides.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Commercial soil data was generated by intensively collecting 60 soil samples in a stratified random sampling pattern in 10 agricultural fields across Indiana. Analysis of this data from commercial fields confirmed inherent field variability that would benefit from multiple management zones according to the labeled rate structures of pendimethalin, s-metolachlor, and metribuzin. Therefore, further research was conducted to determine an accurate and reliable method to delineate the fields into management zones for variable-rate residual herbicide applications based on the spatial soil variability and herbicide labels. </p> <p><br></p> <p>A modified Monte Carlo cross-validation method was used to determine the best source of spatial soil data and sampling intensity for delineating management zones for variable-rate applications of pendimethalin, s- metolachlor, and metribuzin. These sources of spatial soil data included: Soil Survey Geographic database (SSURGO) data, intensive soil samples, electrical resistivity sensors, and implement mounted optical reflectance sensors using VNIR reflectance spectroscopy. The mean management zone classification accuracy for maps developed from soil samples with and without electrical conductivity was similar for 75% of all maps developed across each field, herbicide, and sampling intensity. The method of using soil sampling data combined with electrical conductivity (SSEC) maps was most frequently the top performing source of spatial soil data. The most reliable sampling intensity was one sample per hectare which resulted in lower root mean squared error (RMSE) OM values, higher management zone classification accuracy, and more reliable predictions for the number of management zones within each field. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Using VR maps developed from SSEC with one sample per hectare sampling intensity, additional research was conducted to compare the amount of herbicide and field area that was over-or under-applied with a uniform application rate compared to a VR application for 10 corn and soybean residual herbicides. Although research from our previous study documented that spatial soil variability was extensive enough to require two or more management zones for all fields, the same labeled herbicide dose defined for multiple soil conditions led to 20% of all maps not requiring a variable rate application (VRA). Additionally, no difference was shown in the total amount applied of herbicide in an individual field between a variable and uniform application rate for all herbicides. Nonetheless, nearly half of all VR maps had 10% or more of the field area misapplied with a uniform application rate and justifies further research to determine if the proper placement of residual herbicide adds value through increased weed control in the field areas being under-applied. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Similar to soil residual herbicides, weed seedbank abundance and species richness were impacted by the variable soil conditions present within the field area. The seedbanks favor the establishment in areas of the field that promote vigorous germination, growth, and reproduction next to the competing crop. Therefore, soil sampling and weed seedbank greenhouse grow-outs were conducted in four fields to gain a better understanding in the relationship between the spatial soil and weed seedbank variability. All weed seedbank characteristics were shown to be spatially aggregated. Even though no individual or combination of soil parameters consistently explained the variability of weed seedbank abundance, species richness, or individual weed species across all four fields. However, clay content was the most persistent soil parameter to negatively impact (lower seedbank values) the soil weed seedbank.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Further field studies should be conducted across multiple sites to determine if variable-rate residual herbicide applications aid farmers by reducing the risk of crop injury in over-applied field areas and increased weed control in the areas being under-applied.  These studies should also access whether earlier emergence and/or greater weed densities occur in field areas receiving sublethal herbicide doses compared to areas receiving the optimal application rate. Additional research should investigate the utility of VR residual herbicide applications when tank-mixing multiple products during an application. Particularly, when the soil parameters used for selecting the herbicide rate are not defined the same across herbicide labels </p>

L’expansion agricole ne cesse d’agir sur la perte d’habitats essentiels et nécessaires au développement des espèces. Bien que plusieurs espèces réussissent à survivre dans ces habitats peu adéquats, la persistance et la santé de plusieurs populations semblent compromises par l’utilisation souvent intensive de polluants chimiques agricoles et de fertilisants. Cette étude a pour but de déterminer l’impact des contaminants et de l’écologie du paysage sur la diversité génétique des populations de ouaouarons retrouvées en milieu agricole. Notre hypothèse de départ stipule qu’une exposition chronique aux polluants agricoles induira des différences génétiques au niveau des populations exposées. Le bassin versant de la rivière Yamaska a été désigné comme site d’étude puisqu’il fait partie de la région agricole la plus importante du Québec et parce qu’on y retrouve un gradient d’utilisation des terres pour l’agriculture (faible, moyen, élevé). Le ouaouaron a été choisi à titre de modèle biologique puisque ses caractéristiques physiologiques et écologiques en font une espèce sentinelle capable de rendre compte de l’état de santé global des écosystèmes. La caractérisation génétique des populations a été effectuée à partir de marqueurs d’AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism). Les résultats montrent que la diversité génétique est liée à la colonisation à partir de l’embouchure de la rivière Yamaska et que quelques populations sont génétiquement différenciées. De plus, nous avons démontré une relation positive entre le nombre de locus polymorphes et l’atrazine, l’indice de contamination et le métolachlore et la concentration en azote ainsi qu’entre l’hétérozygotie attendue et la concentration en phosphate. / Agricultural expansion continues to act on the loss of critical habitats for the development of species and affects the integrity of remaining habitats. Although several species manage to survive in such inadequate ecosystems, persistence and health of many populations seem compromised by the intensive use of pesticides and fertilizers. This study aims at determining the impact of pollutants and landscape ecology on the genetic diversity of bullfrog populations inhabiting an agricultural area. Our hypothesis states that chronic exposure to agricultural pollutants induces genetic differences in exposed populations. The watershed of the Yamaska River was designated as the study site because it is part of the largest agricultural region in Quebec and because the sampling sites represent a gradient of land use for agriculture (low, moderate, high). The bullfrog was chosen as the biological model, since its physiological and ecological characteristics make it a sentinel species, which can reflect the overall health of an ecosystem. Population genetic characterization has been conducted from AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism) markers. The results show that genetic diversity is correlated to colonization from the mouth of the Yamaska River and that some populations are genetically differentiated. Furthermore, we demonstrated a positive relationship between the number of polymorphic loci and the atrazine, the contamination index and the nitrogen concentration as well as between expected heterozygosity and phosphate concentration.

L’implantation de la Révolution verte a transformé les caféières, associant polyculture et élevage, en monocultures en fonction d’agrochimiques de synthèse. Pesticides, engrais et variétés hybrides à haut rendement et résistantes aux phytomaladies sont des dispositifs technoscientifiques au service du forçage des agroécosystèmes. Nous montrons comment le binôme monoculture/agrochimiques de synthèse a plongé les caféiculteurs dans une crise de valeurs, déterminée par un verrouillage technologique qui a emporté dans une spirale de dégradation la santé publique, la biodiversité des agroécosystèmes et la stabilité politique et économique des populations. Nous soulignons aussi comment les pratiques de pilotage des écosystèmes caféiers, proposées par l’agroécologie, favorisent un agencement pluraliste des valeurs et un déblocage du système technique. Cette thèse mène ainsi une analyse axiologique du sujet pluriel de la caféiculture technicisée dans le département colombien du Quindío. / The Green Revolution has transformed the coffee culture, combining mixed farming and breeding, into single-crop farming depending on synthesized agrochemicals. Pesticides, fertilizers, and high yield hybrids varieties resistant to phyto-diseases are technoscientific devices aiming at forcing the agroecosystems. We show how the duo single-crop farming/synthesized agrochemicals has drowned the coffee producers into a value crisis determined by a technological lock down which took in a spiral of deterioration of public health, agroecosystem biodiversity, political and the economic stability of populations. We highlight as well how the steering practices of the coffee ecosystems, offered by agroecology, have favored a pluralist organization of values and unlocked the technical system. Thus, this PhD leads to an axiological analysis of the multi-agent technologized coffee culture in the Colombian department of Quindío.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T14:38:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silvana.pdf: 542394 bytes, checksum: d67ecbf4181b7ea554b1e8057151354d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-05-16 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The increasing use of natural agricultural pesticides and the need of real proof of the effects of these products on entomopathogens are the basis of this study, which aimed to assess the in vitro effect of the following homeopathic products: Arsenicum album 24CH; Calcareous carbonica 30CH; Kali iodatum 100CH; Phosphorus 3CH; Silicea 30CH; Staphysagria 06, 30, and 100CH; Spodoptera frugiperda 30CH; Sulphur 100 and 200CH; and Thuya occidentalis 200CH (applied at a concentration of 0.1% of sterile distilled homeopathic/water) on the fungi Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae. The treatments were sprayed on the fungi in the PDA culture media in Petri or Rodac-type dishes, where conidia viability, colony-forming units (CFU), vegetative growth, and production of conidia were assessed. Homeopathic treatments were also assessed regarding the insecticide activity of these fungi against Diatraea saccharalis caterpillars. In tests with the fungus B. bassiana (Chapter 1) treatments Phosphorus 3CH; Silicea 30CH; Staphysagria 30CH and Spodoptera frugiperda 30CH reduced viability. All treatments except Arsenicum album 24CH promoted increased CFU. Likewise, Phosphorus 3CH; Staphysagria 30CH; Staphysagria 100CH and Sulphur 200CH promoted increased vegetative growth. In tests with the fungus M. anisopliae (Chapter 2), the treatments did not affect negatively the viability, vegetative growth and conidial production. All treatments were compatible to the fungus B. bassiana and M. anisopliae. Generally the insecticidal activity of fungi B. bassiana and M. anisopliae on D. saccharalis, was not influenced by the treatments, however, the drug Thuya occidentalis 200CH reduced activity B. bassiana on the insect / O crescente uso dos defensivos agrícolas naturais e a necessidade de real comprovação acerca dos efeitos desses produtos sobre entomopatógenos evidenciam o presente trabalho, que teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito in vitro dos produtos homeopáticos Arsenicum album 24CH; Calcarea carbônica 30CH; Kali iodatum 100CH; Phosphorus 3CH; Silicea 30CH; Staphysagria 06; 30 e 100CH; Spodoptera frugiperda 30CH; Sulphur 100 e 200CH e Thuya occidentalis 200CH (aplicados na concentração de 0,1% de homeopático/ água destilada e esterilizada) sobre os fungos Beauveria bassiana e Metarhizium anisopliae. Dessa forma, pulverizaram-se os tratamentos sobre os fungos no meio de cultura batata dextrose ágar, em placas de Petri, onde se avaliaram as unidades formadoras de colônias (UFC), crescimento vegetativo e produção de conídios. A viabilidade foi avaliada em placas do tipo Rodac. Os tratamentos homeopáticos ainda foram avaliados sobre a atividade inseticida desses fungos contra lagartas de Diatraea saccharalis. Nos ensaios com o fungo B. bassiana (Capítulo 1) os tratamentos Phosphorus 3CH; Silicea 30CH; Staphysagria 30CH e Spodoptera frugiperda 30CH reduziram a viabilidade do fungo. Todos os tratamentos com exceção de Arsenicum album 24CH promoveram o aumento de UFC. Da mesma forma, Phosphorus 3CH; Staphysagria 30CH; Staphysagria 100CH e Sulphur 200CH promoveram aumento do crescimento vegetativo. Nos ensaios com o fungo M. anisopliae (Capítulo 2), os tratamentos não comprometeram negativamente a viabilidade, o crescimento vegetativo e a produção de conídios. Todos os tratamentos apresentaram-se compatíveis aos fungos B. bassiana e M. anisopliae. De modo geral a atividade inseticida dos fungos B. i bassiana e M. anisopliae sobre D. saccharalis, não foi influenciada pelos tratamentos, no entanto, o medicamento Thuya occidentalis 200CH reduziu atividade de B. bassiana sobre o inseto

L’expansion agricole ne cesse d’agir sur la perte d’habitats essentiels et nécessaires au développement des espèces. Bien que plusieurs espèces réussissent à survivre dans ces habitats peu adéquats, la persistance et la santé de plusieurs populations semblent compromises par l’utilisation souvent intensive de polluants chimiques agricoles et de fertilisants. Cette étude a pour but de déterminer l’impact des contaminants et de l’écologie du paysage sur la diversité génétique des populations de ouaouarons retrouvées en milieu agricole. Notre hypothèse de départ stipule qu’une exposition chronique aux polluants agricoles induira des différences génétiques au niveau des populations exposées. Le bassin versant de la rivière Yamaska a été désigné comme site d’étude puisqu’il fait partie de la région agricole la plus importante du Québec et parce qu’on y retrouve un gradient d’utilisation des terres pour l’agriculture (faible, moyen, élevé). Le ouaouaron a été choisi à titre de modèle biologique puisque ses caractéristiques physiologiques et écologiques en font une espèce sentinelle capable de rendre compte de l’état de santé global des écosystèmes. La caractérisation génétique des populations a été effectuée à partir de marqueurs d’AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism). Les résultats montrent que la diversité génétique est liée à la colonisation à partir de l’embouchure de la rivière Yamaska et que quelques populations sont génétiquement différenciées. De plus, nous avons démontré une relation positive entre le nombre de locus polymorphes et l’atrazine, l’indice de contamination et le métolachlore et la concentration en azote ainsi qu’entre l’hétérozygotie attendue et la concentration en phosphate. / Agricultural expansion continues to act on the loss of critical habitats for the development of species and affects the integrity of remaining habitats. Although several species manage to survive in such inadequate ecosystems, persistence and health of many populations seem compromised by the intensive use of pesticides and fertilizers. This study aims at determining the impact of pollutants and landscape ecology on the genetic diversity of bullfrog populations inhabiting an agricultural area. Our hypothesis states that chronic exposure to agricultural pollutants induces genetic differences in exposed populations. The watershed of the Yamaska River was designated as the study site because it is part of the largest agricultural region in Quebec and because the sampling sites represent a gradient of land use for agriculture (low, moderate, high). The bullfrog was chosen as the biological model, since its physiological and ecological characteristics make it a sentinel species, which can reflect the overall health of an ecosystem. Population genetic characterization has been conducted from AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism) markers. The results show that genetic diversity is correlated to colonization from the mouth of the Yamaska River and that some populations are genetically differentiated. Furthermore, we demonstrated a positive relationship between the number of polymorphic loci and the atrazine, the contamination index and the nitrogen concentration as well as between expected heterozygosity and phosphate concentration.

In the last decades, there has been a growing interest in studying particular those arthropods who have an important role in agroecosystems. For example, they are natural enemies of pests and therefore they are considered to be beneficial organisms. However, these beneficial arthropods may be negatively affected by the application of chemicals under the management of agroecosystems and their potential to inhibit pests can be significantly reduced. Such organisms certainly include spiders which occure in abundant numbers practically in all types of terrestrial habitats including agricultural ecosystems where they have a role of very important predators. Therefore, the thesis focused on current issues of pesticides, especially from the view of their negative effects on behavioral modification of beneficial invertebrate organisms in agricultural crops. The theoretical part is devoted to a brief characteristics of pesticides, their sublethal effects on non-target organisms and the importance of spiders as natural regulators of pests in agroecosystems. The practical part describes the experiment whereconventionally used agrochemicals were tested the influence of the herbicide and desiccant Basta 15, the Arrest preparation and their combination (mixture Basta 15 + Arrest) on spiders genus Pardosa. I focused on the side effects of these solutions, specifically on the modification of predatory behavior and on the mortality of spiders. It has been shown that agrochemicals affect the predation successfulness of spiders. From the short term and the long term point of view, it has been shown that spiders treated with the tested preparations killed less prey than the individuals in the control group which were treated only with distilled water. The dependence of mortality and the number of killed prey on the size and sex has not been proved. Preparations Basta 15 and the mixture caused significantly higher mortality of spiders. The Arrest preparation did not increase the mortality.

Submitted by Juliana Fonseca (juliana-munefica.fonseca@dupont.com) on 2018-02-21T02:54:41Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação MPAgro 2017_Juliana Fonseca_REVISAO FINAL_OK.docx: 382070 bytes, checksum: dc8820b3cde88b684fd7c352de49671e (MD5) / Rejected by Mayara Costa de Sousa (mayara.sousa@fgv.br), reason: Prezada Juliana, Alguns ajustes a serem feitos de acordo com as normas: 1. O trabalho deve estar em PDF 2. As palavras-chave devem estar separadas por ponto e virgula 3. O trabalho estar sem paginação, por favor verificar as normas ABNT. Qualquer dúvida estou à disposição. Att, Mayara 3799/3438 on 2018-02-23T17:13:37Z (GMT) / Submitted by Juliana Fonseca (juliana-munefica.fonseca@dupont.com) on 2018-02-23T20:18:06Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação MPAgro 2017_Juliana Fonseca_REVISAO FINAL_23022017 pdf.pdf: 376710 bytes, checksum: 31c2e1617e6c32c5d3689589edfa1abf (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Mayara Costa de Sousa (mayara.sousa@fgv.br) on 2018-02-27T17:30:48Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação MPAgro 2017_Juliana Fonseca_REVISAO FINAL_23022017 pdf.pdf: 376710 bytes, checksum: 31c2e1617e6c32c5d3689589edfa1abf (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-02-27T20:09:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação MPAgro 2017_Juliana Fonseca_REVISAO FINAL_23022017 pdf.pdf: 376710 bytes, checksum: 31c2e1617e6c32c5d3689589edfa1abf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-01-22 / Esta dissertação busca analisar o comportamento e atuação do MAPA, ANVISA e IBAMA ao longo do processo de registro de uma nova molécula no setor de defensivos agrícolas, com o objetivo de analisar como as atuais aplicações da regulamentação tem afetado a disponibilização destes produtos aos agricultores. A pesquisa utilizou informações de variados sites (órgãos federais, associações, entidades de pesquisa, jornais agrícolas de grande circulação), bem como atas de reuniões, relatórios, planilhas e apresentações dos três órgãos federais. Os dados levantados indicaram uma tendência de aumento no tempo de registro de um novo ingrediente ativo. Esta pesquisa reforça a importância de uma discussão profunda sobre a eficiência na gestão pública e incentivo a inovação no Brasil. É possível notar que houve um grande avanço no segmento de produtos equivalentes, importantes para aumentar a oferta e competividade no setor, no entanto, percebe-se que o cenário atual pode não ser atrativo às empresas que focam em inovação devido a falta de previsibilidade no retorno de seus investimentos. / This research analyzes the behavior and performance of MAPA, ANVISA and IBAMA throughout the process of a new pesticide registration in order to evaluate how the regulation application affect the availability of new products to Brazilian farmers. The research based on information from a variety of websites (federal agencies, associations, entities and agricultural journals), as well as meetings minutes, reports, spreadsheets and presentations from the three federal agencies. The data collected indicated a trend to increase the approval timing of a new active ingredient. The data also indicated the importance of a deep discussion about efficiency in public management and incentive to innovation in Brazil. It is possible to notice that there has been a great advance in the segment of equivalent products, important to increase the supply and competitiveness to benefit growers, however, it is noteworthy that the current scenario may not be attractive to the companies that focus on innovation due to the lack of predictability in the return on investment.

Submitted by Deyse Queiroz (deysequeirozz@hotmail.com) on 2018-05-25T12:29:05Z No. of bitstreams: 1 AFRÂNIO SOUTO DUQUE DE ABRANTES - DISSERTAÇÃO PPGSA PROFISSIONAL 2017..pdf: 1738356 bytes, checksum: 35a4ce70412b5ab5b44fb2b7d2f92268 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-25T12:29:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AFRÂNIO SOUTO DUQUE DE ABRANTES - DISSERTAÇÃO PPGSA PROFISSIONAL 2017..pdf: 1738356 bytes, checksum: 35a4ce70412b5ab5b44fb2b7d2f92268 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017 / As ações promovidas pela logística reversa são importantes para auxiliar no combate aos impactos ambientais, consistindo na devolução de embalagens que contenham resíduos que causam efeitos nocivos à saúde e ao meio ambiente. No que se refere a essa pesquisa foram vinculadas as ações da logística reversa e foi elaborado manuais de boas práticas, nos quais abordaram os meios adequados para o descarte das embalagens de agrotóxicos que, por obrigação de lei, devem ser devolvidas ao seu fornecedor. Dessa forma, o estudo teve como objetivo geral analisar o funcionamento da logística reversa no Perímetro Irrigado São Gonçalo-PB. Para alcançar esse objetivo foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa bibliográfica pertinente ao tema abordado, levantando uma fundamentação teórica sobre conceitos e aplicações da logística reversa. Quanto à metodologia, foi utilizado um estudo de caso a respeito da logística reversa. A pesquisa foi classificada em descritiva e exploratória. Para tanto, utilizou-se uma entrevista aos colonos do Perímetro Irrigado de São Gonçalo e também aos fornecedores dos agrotóxicos, usando, assim, um questionário semiestruturado. Logo, a pesquisa teve um caráter misto, ou seja, trata-se de um estudo qualitativo e quantitativo. As principais conclusões do estudo indicaram que poucos produtores devolvem suas embalagens de agrotóxicos após seu uso e que a grande maioria não tem preocupação em devolver essas embalagens, o que se configura como um fator preocupante para a saúde da população e para o meio ambiente. Outro fator preocupante observado foi a ausência do uso de equipamentos de segurança por parte dos atores envolvidos na aplicação dos defensivos visto que mais de 50% não usam nenhum tipo de proteção. Contudo, não há uma fiscalização no que se refere à obrigatoriedade da logística reversa, fato que contribui para a obtenção de resultados dessa natureza. / The actions promoted by reverse logistics are important to assist in combating environmental impacts, consisting of the return of packaging that contains waste that causes harmful effects on health and the environment. With regard to this research, the actions of reverse logistics were linked to the packaging of pesticides that, due to legal obligations, should be returned to their suppliers. So, the study had as general objective to analyze the operation of reverse logistics in the irrigated perimeter São Gonçalo-PB. In order to achieve this objective, a bibliographical research was developed that was pertinent to the topic addressed, raising a theoretical foundation about concepts and applications of reverse logistics. As for the methodology, a case study was used regarding reverse logistics. The research was classified as descriptive and exploratory, in which an interview was made with the settlers of the irrigated perimeter São Gonçalo and also with the suppliers of pesticides, using a semi - structured questionnaire in this way the research had a mixed character because it is a qualitative study and Quantitative. The main conclusions of the study indicated that few producers return their pesticide containers after their use and that the vast majority have no concern in returning these packages which is a worrying factor for the health of the population and the environment. Another worrying factor that has been drawn from conclusion and the absence of the use of safety equipment by the actors involved in the application of the pesticides since more than 50% do not use any type of protection. However, there is not a certain oversight regarding the obligation of reverse logistics, which contributes to obtaining results of this nature.

It is increasingly being recognised that agrichemical exposure may have adverse chronic health effects in humans, particularly on central nervous system function. However, much of this evidence sterns from studies relating to the effects of acute intoxications (i.e. short-term high dose exposures) and little data exist on the chronic effects of long-term low-dose exposures to agrichemicals in the absence of acute poisoning. Such a finding would have substantial public health implications for prevention and control of chronic morbidity and mortality. This is particularly important in South Africa, where a sizeable portion of the rural population are employed in agricultural work, often under extremely unhealthy living and working conditions, and where occupational agrichemical exposures appear to be substantial. To address this question, this study investigated the prevalence of neurological and neurobehavioural abnormalities amongst 247 fruit farm workers in the Kouebokkeveld in the Western Cape, of whom 163 were current agrichemical applicators. Outcomes measured included neurological symptoms, peripheral vibration sense, motor tremor, as well as performance on the World Health Organisation Neurobehavioural Core Test Battery (WHO NCTB) and a set of neurobehavioural tests based on the Information Processing model of cognitive psychology. These latter tests have been developed in South Africa for subjects of low educational levels and aim to by-pass the powerful effects of culture that complicate traditional neuropsychological testing, which may mask the smaller effects due to occupational chemical exposures. Cumulative, and average lifetime intensity of exposure to organophosphates were estimated using a job- exposure matrix based on a combination of secondary industry data, interview reports and farmer records. Confounders measured included age, education, smoking and alcohol habits, non-occupational exposure to agrichemicals and other potential neurotoxins, past medical history and usage of personal protective equipment. The study results confirmed low levels of education and high alcohol consumption amongst the sample of farm workers. Multiple logistic and linear regression were used to identify exposure-effect relationships and to control for confounding. Neurological symptoms were significantly associated with a history of previous pesticide poisoning, although this may have arisen as a result of reporting bias. Vibration sense and the neurobehavioural tests exhibited associations with established covariates, and regression modelling of the WHO NCTB tests was remarkably similar to findings in another study of solvent-exposed factory workers in South Africa. None of the vibration sense, tremor or neurobehavioural outcomes were associated with past agrichemical poisoning in the sample, and only two tests showed significant relationships with long-term occupational exposure. These included the Pursuit Aiming subtest of the WHO NCTB and one of the tests of long-term semantic memory in the Information Processing tests. However, the strength of these the associations were small (partial r²s less than 2%) and these findings may have occurred due to chance arising from multiple comparisons. The neurobehavioural tests based on the Information Processing model appeared to offer little improvement on the WHO NCTB in terms of being less sensitive to cultural effects, although some evidence was present that tests of semantic access were able to detect occupational effects and were less sensitive to education. The absence of a demonstrable and consistent long-term agrichemical exposure-effect relationship appears to suggest that long-term agrichemical exposure is not associated with adverse chronic nervous system effects, although the lack of organophosphate specificity in construction of exposure indices in the job-exposure matrix may partly contribute to this finding. Recommendations to improve the characterisation of agrichemical exposures at farming work place are made, as well as suggestions concerning the role of biological monitoring for agrichemicals, improving working and living conditions on South African farms, and methods of neurological and neurobehavioural assessment in occupational health.

Submitted by Johnny Rodrigues (johnnyrodrigues@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-06-04T15:19:55Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PAULO ROBERTO QUEIRÓS - DISSERTAÇÃO PPGSA PROFISSIONAL 2016..pdf: 918901 bytes, checksum: 6b56904527605057f88b6008ef2a279f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-04T15:19:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PAULO ROBERTO QUEIRÓS - DISSERTAÇÃO PPGSA PROFISSIONAL 2016..pdf: 918901 bytes, checksum: 6b56904527605057f88b6008ef2a279f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016 / O agronegócio no Brasil tem causado importantes transformações no território, com impactos significativos sobre a saúde humana em função da intensa utilização de agrotóxicos. Dentre estes impactos sobre a saúde humana, um dado preocupante é o aumento da incidência de intoxicação por agrotóxico (agrotóxico e agrotóxico de uso agrícola) em todo o país. O objetivo do estudo é analisar a incidência de intoxicações por agrotóxicos e as características epidemiológicas no Brasil, no período de 2001 a 2014. Trata-se de um estudo ecológico, de séries temporais, bem como descritivo. Os dados foram submetidos a tratamento estatístico através do modelo de regressão polinomial, teste MannWhitney e Teste Kruskal-Wallis, para estas análises, foi adotado um nível de significância de 5%. Utilizou-se também, análise estatística descritiva simples. A análise dos dados foi realizada pelo programa SPSS 20.0®. Foram notificados 80.069 casos de intoxicação por agrotóxico no período de 2001 a 2014, apresentando um crescimento linear exponencial de intoxicação por agrotóxico nesta população, cuja taxa de intoxicação foi de 0.377. No período, as Regiões Sul e Centro-Oeste apresentaram as maiores taxas de intoxicação. Em relação ao comportamento da circunstância da intoxicação, houve relação significativa para a tentativa de suicídio. Quanto à intoxicação por agrotóxico de uso agrícola, foram notificados 25.106 casos no período de 2007 a 2014. Neste período, houve um crescimento linear significativo de intoxicação por agrotóxico de uso agrícola nesta população, cuja taxa de intoxicação foi de 0.1644. No período, houve comportamento heterogêneo entre as taxas de incidência por unidades federativas, todavia, as taxas indicam crescimento por todas as regiões do Brasil. Das dimensões sócio-demográficas, a maioria das intoxicações ocorreram no Brasil em vitimas na faixa etária 20-59 anos (74,7%), sexo masculino (71,0%.), de pele branca (43,8%), zona urbana (54,1%), com apenas o ensino fundamental (42,4%). Para os aspectos relacionados à intoxicação, a maioria das intoxicações por agrotóxicos de uso agrícola no Brasil indicou a circunstância tentativa de suicídio (38,2 %), cura sem sequela (82,3%) e a exposição aguda-única (78,7%). Nesse sentido, o país precisa aprimorar as políticas voltadas a intoxicação por agrotóxico desenvolvendo medidas eficazes para a prevenção e diagnóstico precoce das pessoas intoxicadas. Em longo prazo, cabe desenvolver novos estudos para compreender se as medidas tomadas foram eficazes para reduzir as tendências e percentuais apontadas neste estudo. / Brazilian’s agribusiness has caused important transformation around the country, with significant impacts on human health due to the big use of pesticides. Among these impacts due the human health, the increased toxicity about pesticides (pesticides and agricultural pesticides) in Brazil is concerning. The objective of this study is to analyze the incidence of pesticide poisoning and epidemiological characteristics in Brazil, from 2001 to 2014. This is an ecological study, time series, as described. Data were analyzed statistically by polynomial regression model, Mann-Whitney test and Kruskal-Wallis test. These analyzes it adopted a 5% significance level. Also it was used descriptive statistical analysis simple. For the processing of the data was used SPSS 20.0® program. 80,069 cases of pesticide poisoning were reported in the period 2001-2014, with an exponential linear growth of poisoning by pesticides in this population, whose poisoning rate was 0.377. During the period, the South and the Midwest had the highest intoxication rates. Regarding the behavior of the condition of intoxication, there was a significant relationship to the suicide attempt. As for the pesticide poisoning of farm sweat, 25,106 cases were reported from 2007 to 2014. During this period, there was a significant linear growth of poisoning by pesticides for agricultural use in this population, whose poisoning rate was 0.1644. That moment, there were divergent behavior between the incidence rates for federal units, however, the rates show growth in all regions of Brazil. Sociodemographic dimensions, most poisonings occurred in Brazil in victims aged 20-59 years (74.7%), male (71.0%.), White skin (43.8%), area urban (54.1%), just primary education (42.4%). The analysis of socio-demographic dimensions of Regions indicated most of intoxication of victims of pesticide use in agriculture in the age group 20-59 years old in the Southeast (74.8%), male in the Southeast Region (72.7% ). Brown-skinned individuals were more frequent in the North, Northeast and Midwest while, in the Southeast and South, there was a higher percentage for white skinned individuals, urban exposure zone (55.7%) in the Southeast and elementary school (56.3%) in the South. For aspects related to intoxication, most poisonings from pesticide poisoning in Brazil indicated the circumstance suicide attempt (38.2%), healing without sequelae (82.3%) and acute-single exposure (78.7%). The evaluation of aspects related to poisoning by pesticide use in agriculture by Region indicated the attempted suicide as the most frequent in the Northeast (60.5%), without sequel healing in the South (87.7%) and acute-single in Southeast (76.6%). Therefore, the country needs to improve policies to poisoning by pesticides, developing effective measures for the prevention and early diagnosis of intoxicated people. In the future, it must be developing new studies to understand if the measures taken have been effective in reducing the tendencies and percentages cited in this study.