DEPOSITION ANALYSIS OF SEVERAL APPLICATION VOLUMES OF PESTICIDES ADAPTED TO THE GROWTH OF A GREENHOUSE TOMATO CROP

For the calculation of the pesticide-application volume in a greenhouse tomato crop, four spray tests have been made in different states of crop growth. For this, the spray tests were conducted sequentially with three application volumes for each growth stage. The tracers used were tartrazine, indigo carmine, and patent blue. For the characterization of crop canopy, the evolution of its growth were studied, measuring LAI (Leaf Area Index), which ranged from 0.68 and 3.16 m·m, and the geometric parameters that define the volume of the vegetation, in order to calculate the TRV (Tree Row Volume) and UCR (Unit Canopy Row). The tests were made with a vertical boom sprayer equipped with a variable number of flat fan nozzles, depending on the height of the crop. LAI was used to calculate the theoretical application volume applying the method of the optimal coverage, spraying the theoretically optimal amount, in addition to 33 % more and 33% less. The deposition was measured at three heights and four depths in the canopy, with four replications per treatment. From the results, the standardized depositions were calculated, based on the amount of tracers per surface ground unit, in addition to identifying the most suitable application volume, based on the standardized deposition and the degree of its uniformity in the canopy. The TRV values calculated were related to those of the application volume that better standardized deposition offered obtaining a regression model with a R of 0.9.