A field comparison of several methods for measuring pesticide evaporation rates from soil

Four methodologies-an aerodynamic vertical profile, a bulk-transfer technique, an integrated horizontal flux method, and a theoretical profile shape method-determine the postapplication volatilization flux of pesticides from fallow soil. Chlorpyrifos, diazinon, lindane, and nitrapyrin were applied to the soil surface in a side-by-side field study. All of the methods gave statistically equivalent results. However, all have inherent flaws such as the assumption of the equivalence of the transfer coefficients for each pesticide to heat or water.