Quantitative and qualitative inventories of end-of life practices for AP

A special protocol has been developed for the collection of samples of both virgin AP and APW as part of subtask 1.2.1. This protocol specifically targets farms that use various AP products and aims to study the degradation of AP during their use in open field or internal crop protection conditions.

Farmers were requested to provide samples of each AP category used during the cultivation period, including mulching film, direct cover, irrigation tape (if used for one season), twines, clips, somatization films, traps for insects etc. Virgin AP samples were collected prior to their application in the field while used AP (APW) samples were collected at the end of the cultivation season regardless of the subsequent EoL management practices. In cases where AP and APW had a lifetime exceeding one cultivation period, farmers were contacted to determine if they could provide the requested samples within the project duration.