Quantifying the influence of driving factors on irrigation water productivity (IWP) is vital for efficient agricultural water use. This study analyzed contributions of agronomic practice and climatic factors to the changes of IWP, based on the data from 1981 to 2012 in Hexi Corridor, Northwest China. Cobb-Douglas production functions were developed by the partial least squares method and contri...

Weekly composite rainfall samples were collected in three paired urban and agricultural regions of the Midwestern United States and along the Mississippi River during April-September 1995. The paired sampling sites were located in Mississippi, Iowa, and Minnesota. A background site, removed from dense urban and agriculture areas, was located near Lake Superior in Michigan. Herbicides were the p...

The objective of study is to provide an analysis of data trends on the type of pesticide used, exposure factors, and the pesticide-related concerns among the farmers from 2005 to 2010 in one of the largest vegetable producing areas in the Philippines. This is to determine and analyze changes that have occurred for the last five years in order to provide necessary basis in promoting safe usage o...

BACKGROUND Farmworkers can be exposed to a wide variety of pesticides. Assessing cholinesterase activity over time can be used to monitor exposure to organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides. OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to document patterns and variation in cholinesterase levels across the agricultural season (May-August) among field-workers, and to explore the association of choli...

BACKGROUND Melanoma rates continue to increase; however, few risk factors other than sun sensitivity and ultraviolet radiation (including sun exposure) have been identified. Although studies of farmers have shown an excess risk of melanoma and other skin cancers, it is unclear how much of this is related to sun exposure compared with other agricultural exposures. METHODS We examined dose-resp...

BACKGROUND Accurate pesticide use data are essential when studying the environmental and public health impacts of pesticide use. Since the mid-1990s, significant changes have occurred in when and how glyphosate herbicides are applied, and there has been a dramatic increase in the total volume applied. METHODS Data on glyphosate applications were collected from multiple sources and integrated ...

BACKGROUND Chlorothalonil is a broad spectrum, non-systemic fungicide widely used to control diseases affecting over 50 fruit, vegetable, and agricultural crops. Despite its extensive use for over 30 years, little is known about the potential human carcinogenicity associated with the routine application of chlorothalonil. Rodent studies have shown evidence of renal tubular carcinomas and adenom...

To examine the effect of urban development on pesticide concentrations in streams under low-flow conditions, water samples were collected at stream sites along an urban land use gradient in six environmentally heterogeneous metropolitan areas of the United States. In all six metropolitan areas, total insecticide concentrations generally increased significantly as urban land cover in the basin i...