Indoor assessment of dust drift effect from different types of pneumatic seed drills

• Performance evaluation of different technical solutions to reduce seed dressing dust dispersion.
• A proposed methodology for evaluation of dust dispersion from seeders in indoor conditions.
• Use of devices enabling the direction of the air flow towards the soil minimized dust dispersion.

The air stream generated by the fan of pneumatic seeders – necessary to create a depression in the sowing element of the machine and to guarantee correct seed deposition – can blow away solid particles that have become detached from the seeds including the pesticide seed coating used for seed dressings. In this study, experimental tests were carried out to evaluate the performance of technical solutions by seeder manufacturers to limit dust drift. A specific test methodology was developed to assess seeder performance. The tested technologies that convey the air to the soil, independent of their design, reduced particle drift from seeds by more than 60% compared to a conventional machine with the fan outlet oriented upwards. Particle drift was reduced by more than 70% if only an area between 5 and 20 m downwind of the machine border was considered. This study has shown that the use of an appropriate design can reduce the dispersion of toxic seed coating dust in the atmosphere during seeding and that the methodology developed to carry out the trials could be used for seeder dust dispersion classification.