Effect of air blast sprayer application speed on the dye retention of coffee leaves

Abstract

Improving the effectiveness of pesticide application for controlling insects, mites, and pathogens in coffee cultivation has been a major challenge for coffee farmers, researchers, and consultants. The present study aimed to assess the deposition and distribution of a brilliant blue tracer in the coffee canopy using Jacto’s Arbus 2000 Super Export EL and Kuhn’s Twister 2000 air blast sprayers at different application speeds (5 and 7 km h-1). The experiment was conducted using a randomized block design, with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement (two sprayer models and two application speeds), with six replicates. After spraying, leaves were collected, and the deposition of the tracer was assessed using spectrophotometry. The canopy was divided into lower, middle, and upper heights, and subdivided into external and internal crown positions. The percentage difference in spray deposition between positions was termed relative spray deposition. Spray deposition in the internal crown differed only in the upper third section between sprayers. In the external crown, the application speed affected the deposition of tracer dye for both sprayers, whereas, in the internal crown, the application speed only affected the deposition of tracer dye in the upper crown section only when using the Arbus sprayer.