The Fuzzy way of assessing pesticide volatility

Post-application volatilisation of pesticides is a major potential pathway of pesticide distribution to non-target areas. When trying to assess the vo latilisation potential of a given pesticide (i. e., its volatility) based o n volatilisation measurements one is faced with a number of uncertainties. All volatilisation measurements are influenced by a number of parameters wh ich depend on the experimental design. While the qualitative nature of the influence often is understood the effects usually cannot be quantified. Whe n assessing pesticide volatility based on the physicochemical properties of the active ingredient other uncertainties need to be addressed: the most i mportant property, vapour pressure, is difficult to measure and a broad ran ge of values have been published for many active ingredients. Water solubil ity is not determined easily, either. Above all, these properties are usual ly measured for the active ingredient only but not for the formulated produ ct. Fuzzy logic provides a means of quantifying vague knowledge of processe s and properties. Based on existing expert knowledge and our own experiment al work we have developed fuzzy controllers describing pesticide volatility and volatilisation from soil. In combination wish results from simple (i. e., influenced by few parameters) volatilisation measurements these control lers may constitute a valuable tool for volatility assessment.