Cover crops and integrated management reduce pesticide residues in soils and water: Pathways towards cleaner production in Argentine agricultura
The potential of cover crops and integrated management as a cleaner production strategy for grain systems in the Argentinian Pampas was assessed in this study. A four-year field comparison of conventional farmer practices with cover crops and integrated management, through practices aimed at reducin...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| Language: | Inglés |
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Elsevier
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/24163 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880925005304 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109998 |
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| author | Aparicio, Virginia Carolina Rizzalli, Roberto Héctor Panaggio, Nestor Hernan Andrade, Fernando Hector Costa, Jose Luis |
| author_browse | Andrade, Fernando Hector Aparicio, Virginia Carolina Costa, Jose Luis Panaggio, Nestor Hernan Rizzalli, Roberto Héctor |
| author_facet | Aparicio, Virginia Carolina Rizzalli, Roberto Héctor Panaggio, Nestor Hernan Andrade, Fernando Hector Costa, Jose Luis |
| author_sort | Aparicio, Virginia Carolina |
| collection | INTA Digital |
| description | The potential of cover crops and integrated management as a cleaner production strategy for grain systems in the Argentinian Pampas was assessed in this study. A four-year field comparison of conventional farmer practices with cover crops and integrated management, through practices aimed at reducing pesticide use was conducted. Glyphosate, (2,4-dichlorophenoxy) acetic acid and atrazine were the pesticides most frequently applied under both systems. A 14.9 % lower number of pesticide applications was recorded under cover crops and integrated management, with glyphosate + (2,4-dichlorophenoxy) acetic acid + atrazine being represented as the most common mixture. Clear contamination patterns were observed: (i) in soils, 33 % higher glyphosate concentrations at 0–2 cm depth were detected under conventional farmer practices, while accumulation of transformation products (aminomethylphosphonic acid, hydroxy-atrazine), consistent with enhanced biological degradation, was favoured by cover crops and integrated management; (ii) in leachate water, consistently higher atrazine and (2,4-dichlorophenoxy) acetic acid concentrations were found under conventional farmer practices, whereas no significant differences between systems were detected for glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid; (iii) in groundwater, mixtures of glyphosate, aminomethylphosphonic acid and atrazine were identified, indicating diffuse regional contamination not constrained by management. Through these findings, cover crops and integrated management are positioned as a transitional pathway by which pesticide residues can be reduced without fully removing chemical dependence. However, the persistence of aminomethylphosphonic acid in soils and the presence of pesticide cocktails in groundwater are highlighted as issues requiring complementary monitoring to ensure long-term sustainability. Policy promotion of cleaner agricultural transitions aligned with Sustainable Development Goals 6 (Clean water) and 15 (Life on land) is supported, while critical gaps in the understanding of metabolite dynamics are identified. |
| format | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| id | INTA24163 |
| institution | Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| publisherStr | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | INTA241632025-10-15T10:54:47Z Cover crops and integrated management reduce pesticide residues in soils and water: Pathways towards cleaner production in Argentine agricultura Aparicio, Virginia Carolina Rizzalli, Roberto Héctor Panaggio, Nestor Hernan Andrade, Fernando Hector Costa, Jose Luis Agricultura Sostenible Lixiviación Suelo Agrícola Residuo de Plaguicidas Contaminación Aguas Subterráneas Sustainable Agriculture Leaching Pesticide Residues Contamination Groundwater Agricultural Soils Argentina The potential of cover crops and integrated management as a cleaner production strategy for grain systems in the Argentinian Pampas was assessed in this study. A four-year field comparison of conventional farmer practices with cover crops and integrated management, through practices aimed at reducing pesticide use was conducted. Glyphosate, (2,4-dichlorophenoxy) acetic acid and atrazine were the pesticides most frequently applied under both systems. A 14.9 % lower number of pesticide applications was recorded under cover crops and integrated management, with glyphosate + (2,4-dichlorophenoxy) acetic acid + atrazine being represented as the most common mixture. Clear contamination patterns were observed: (i) in soils, 33 % higher glyphosate concentrations at 0–2 cm depth were detected under conventional farmer practices, while accumulation of transformation products (aminomethylphosphonic acid, hydroxy-atrazine), consistent with enhanced biological degradation, was favoured by cover crops and integrated management; (ii) in leachate water, consistently higher atrazine and (2,4-dichlorophenoxy) acetic acid concentrations were found under conventional farmer practices, whereas no significant differences between systems were detected for glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid; (iii) in groundwater, mixtures of glyphosate, aminomethylphosphonic acid and atrazine were identified, indicating diffuse regional contamination not constrained by management. Through these findings, cover crops and integrated management are positioned as a transitional pathway by which pesticide residues can be reduced without fully removing chemical dependence. However, the persistence of aminomethylphosphonic acid in soils and the presence of pesticide cocktails in groundwater are highlighted as issues requiring complementary monitoring to ensure long-term sustainability. Policy promotion of cleaner agricultural transitions aligned with Sustainable Development Goals 6 (Clean water) and 15 (Life on land) is supported, while critical gaps in the understanding of metabolite dynamics are identified. EEA Balcarce Fil: Aparicio, Virginia Carolina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina Fil: Rizzalli, Roberto. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina Fil: Panaggio, Hernán. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina Fil: Andrade, Fernando Héctor. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina Fil: Costa, José Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina 2025-10-15T10:43:35Z 2025-10-15T10:43:35Z 2026-02 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/24163 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880925005304 0167-8809 (print) 1873-2305 (online) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109998 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) application/pdf Elsevier Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 396 : 1099981 (February 2026) |
| spellingShingle | Agricultura Sostenible Lixiviación Suelo Agrícola Residuo de Plaguicidas Contaminación Aguas Subterráneas Sustainable Agriculture Leaching Pesticide Residues Contamination Groundwater Agricultural Soils Argentina Aparicio, Virginia Carolina Rizzalli, Roberto Héctor Panaggio, Nestor Hernan Andrade, Fernando Hector Costa, Jose Luis Cover crops and integrated management reduce pesticide residues in soils and water: Pathways towards cleaner production in Argentine agricultura |
| title | Cover crops and integrated management reduce pesticide residues in soils and water: Pathways towards cleaner production in Argentine agricultura |
| title_full | Cover crops and integrated management reduce pesticide residues in soils and water: Pathways towards cleaner production in Argentine agricultura |
| title_fullStr | Cover crops and integrated management reduce pesticide residues in soils and water: Pathways towards cleaner production in Argentine agricultura |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cover crops and integrated management reduce pesticide residues in soils and water: Pathways towards cleaner production in Argentine agricultura |
| title_short | Cover crops and integrated management reduce pesticide residues in soils and water: Pathways towards cleaner production in Argentine agricultura |
| title_sort | cover crops and integrated management reduce pesticide residues in soils and water pathways towards cleaner production in argentine agricultura |
| topic | Agricultura Sostenible Lixiviación Suelo Agrícola Residuo de Plaguicidas Contaminación Aguas Subterráneas Sustainable Agriculture Leaching Pesticide Residues Contamination Groundwater Agricultural Soils Argentina |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/24163 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880925005304 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109998 |
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