SPATIAL QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF PESTICIDE APPLICATIONS USING A CANNON SPRAYER - DOI: 10.13083/1414-3984/reveng.v23n5p418-427

Resumo

One of the critical points of the current system of crop production is the use of pesticides, which in addition to increasing the cost of production, can cause direct and indirect environmental contamination. This study aimed at evaluating the spatial variability of the quality of the pesticide applications using a cannon sprayer. Hydrosensitive paper targets were placed on the soil every two meters in the direction of the air flow until the maximum range of 30 m, and also in the direction of the tractor movement, placed every 6 m until the maximum distance of 30 m, forming a 90 m² area. Operational parameters of the Volume Median Diameter (VMD), Coefficient of homogeneity (CH), Target coverage (%C) and Density of droplets (DD) were evaluated. The data were submitted to a descriptive analysis and a subsequent geostatistical analysis in order to construct maps for the variables. The sprayer was not considered capable of performing efficient pesticide applications while maintaining good application uniformity, even in proper operating conditions.