Article
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On-target Deposition from Two Engine-Powered Sprayers in Medium Foliage Density Citrus Canopies
Version 1
: Received: 28 May 2024 / Approved: 29 May 2024 / Online: 29 May 2024 (07:45:21 CEST)
How to cite: Larbi, P. A. On-target Deposition from Two Engine-Powered Sprayers in Medium Foliage Density Citrus Canopies. Preprints 2024, 2024051933. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.1933.v1 Larbi, P. A. On-target Deposition from Two Engine-Powered Sprayers in Medium Foliage Density Citrus Canopies. Preprints 2024, 2024051933. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.1933.v1
Abstract
Spray penetration into citrus canopies is critical for adequate coverage and deposition to ensure effective pest control. However, mismatch of air assistance to target canopy characteristics can lead to unintended spray loss through over penetration. To evaluate the effect of air assistance on on-target deposition, two sprayers (surrogates for airflow rates) were used to apply a fluorescent tracer dye solution @ target concentration of 300 ppm to 16 medium foliage density tree blocks in a commercial mandarin orchard. The complete factorial experiment in three replications comprised two ground speeds (1.6 and 4.8 km/h), two disc-core nozzles (TeeJet® D3-25 and D6-45), and either one or two nozzle rows to obtain a wide range of application rates (496 to 9,719 L/ha). Dye deposition significantly decreased with canopy depth (p=<0.001) by nearly 7 times across the 3.4-m-wide canopies but was not significant over 1.2 to 2.2 m sampling height (p=0.867). Deposition obtained with the low airflow rate sprayer was significantly greater (p=<0.001) than that obtained with the high airflow rate sprayer over the dose range likely due to too much air pushing out spray droplets. This study underscores the importance of matching the air assistance of orchard sprayers to the target canopy.
Keywords
air-assistance; airblast sprayer; application rate; fluorometry; spray penetration
Subject
Engineering, Other
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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