Avaliação comparativa entre pulverizadores para uso entre as linhas de plantio de eucalipto

Abstract

The silviculture of planted forests in Brazil, with the Eucalyptus as the main cultivated species, demands intensive treatments in order to remain productive and competitive in international markets. One of these treatments is the weed control, which compete with the main crop for water, light, nutrients and can also host pests and diseases. Throughout the history and the cultivation of eucalypt in Brazil, various implements and methods were developed and tested in order improve the efficiency and effectiveness of this operation. Two wind-box sprayers for herbicide application between planting lines were analyzed. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the adjustable-width, as known as “bat-wing”, sprayer and compare it with the conventional sprayer (fixed width) in the application of post-emergence herbicide between the planting lines. Application quality, control range and operational yields were evaluated in three locations among different planting spacing. The implements did not present significant difference in the percentage of applied area and in the operational efficiency. However, the application range of the “bat-wing” sprayer showed less phytotoxicity and a higher application range when compared to the conventional sprayer.