Using a bio-economic farm model to evaluate the economic potential and pesticide load reduction of the greenRelease technology

CONTEXT: Policies and strategies at EU and national level aim at a reduced use of pesticides in agriculture, such as the Farm to Fork Strategy of the EU Commission. Technological progress can lower pesticide application and contribute to a sustainable bioeconomy. As an example, the greenRelease technology increases the attachment of the active ingredient of plant protection products to the leaf surface and slowly releases the active ingredient from a microgel container. Experiments under both controlled and field conditions have demonstrated the po-tential of the greenRelease technology to reduce pesticide use. As a so-called platform technology, the green -Release concept can be applied to various crops and plant protection chemicals.OBJECTIVE: To guide further development, this study analyses the greenRelease technology regarding its eco-nomic potential and its possible contribution to the reduction of environmental and health risks from pesticide use. METHODS: To do so, we use a bio-economic farm model to assess the technology potential for a typical farm and spraying sequences of various crops in northwestern Germany.RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The results reveal that the economic potential of the greenRelease technology is highest for systemic fungicides in all assessed crops as well as for herbicides for potato cultivation. It is lowest for insecticides in winter barley and potato as well as for contact fungicides, due to the small doses and low product costs. The potential to lower possible environmental and health risks of pesticide use, indicated by the Danish pesticide load indicator, is highest for fungicides in potato, winter wheat, and winter barley as well as for herbicides in sugar beet cultivation. Relative to overall costs in arable farming, the cost changes induced by the greenRelease technology are minor, such that the environmental benefits will be key for promoting its appli-cation. However, the economic competitiveness of the technology increases if agri-environmental policies pro-gressively internalize the negative externalities of pesticides use.SIGNIFICANCE: This research is the first comprehensive economic and environmental assessment of the tech-nology greenRelease which can contribute to lower the environmental burden of pesticide use in agriculture.