Deposição de calda aplicada com aeronave remotamente pilotada na cultura do café

Abstract

Coffee growing is an important agricultural and economic activity in Brazil. One of the great challenges faced by producers is the susceptibility of plants to various pests and diseases, often requiring phytosanitary control through the application of pesticides. However, this operation is often complex, as some areas are on sloping and irregular terrain, a fact that makes mechanized treatments difficult in the crop. Therefore, an option for producers is the use of remotely piloted aircraft. The objective of this work was to analyze the deposition of sprayed syrup on coffee leaves using a remotely piloted aircraft (drone), using two flight heights (2 and 3 m) and three spray nozzles (flat jet XR 11001, flat jet with Airmix 11001 air induction and COAP 9001 empty conical jet). The work was carried out in an 11-year-old Arabica coffee crop, Catuaí IAC 99. The aircraft used was a DJI AGRAS MG-1P octocopter. Four treatments were performed: XR 11001 tip, COAP 9001 and Airmix 11001, all flying at 3 m height, and Airmix 11001 tip at 2 m height. The syrup was composed of the Blue Brilliant tracer at a concentration of 50000mg L-1. Leaves were collected from the upper and lower halves of the plant canopy, from which the tracer was extracted and quantified by spectrophotometry and the leaf area was determined using a leaf area meter. From the results obtained, it was possible to conclude that the flat jet nozzles provided the highest depositions, both in the upper and lower parts of the plants. The flat jet tip with air induction technology proved to be adequate. Its use obtained positive results at 2 and 3 m of flight height, with no difference between them.