The importance of weather conditions for quality spraying

A delicate and important part of the cultivation cycle, spraying occurs several times from the stages of preparing the area for planting to the moment of harvest. If we evaluate soybean planting, for example, this action can have more than five repetitions during the production cycle, depending on the region of the country and the management adopted on the farm. In the case of cotton, around twenty times. This is necessary for many reasons, but mainly due to the presence of weeds, pests and diseases. Furthermore, it is necessary that the product adequately reaches the target and is effective in the control for which it is intended, in order to guarantee healthy growth and crop success.

But before starting each spraying operation, you need to be aware that meteorological issues are essential to obtain quality in this operation. Practical field studies carried out by the Massey Ferguson team demonstrated how important it is to pay attention to relative humidity and air temperature, which cannot be lower than 65% and higher than 30^oC, respectively, to avoid issues related to product evaporation.

In addition, care must also be taken with the speed and direction of the wind. Winds above 10 km/h stimulate the drift process, which takes the applied pesticide away from the target, also reducing quality and potentially causing major problems, such as phytotoxicity, a toxic reaction that harms the crop or even neighboring crops.

To assist farmers in this task, Massey Ferguson sprayers, which are already equipped with a complete terminal, can be added a monitor that receives meteorological data in real time, providing accurate and quality information to the producer to improve spraying and its impact on crop productivity and environmental sustainability.

Using the on-board computer in the sprayer cabin with Solinftec's climate module solution, the rural producer captures information from a weather station intelligently installed inside the farm. With this information, it is possible to plan the best time for each spraying and know the exact moment to end it, when the conditions mentioned above are inadequate.

In addition, the technology incorporated into Massey Ferguson sprayers also allows greater stability of the spray bar height, maintaining high quality according to the topography of the land. Furthermore, according to the brand's field studies, the correct height of the spray bar also has a direct effect on the quality of the operation, so that the entire plant receives uniform deposition of the product.

In the specific case studied, the amount of spray that reached the critical part of the plant increased considerably using a height of 55 cm, compared to a height of 105 cm. Achieving these results in the field was possible through collection on water-sensitive paper, which measures the quality of the operation at different heights of the plant. At the end of each application, it was possible to check the ideal height of the spray bar to perform a better quality operation.

Through the sensing technology present in Massey Ferguson sprayers, the producer no longer needs to apply the boom at a height above the recommended height, in order to prevent it from reaching the ground and suffering damage. It can configure the height of the bar to work within the recommended height according to the spray tip used, which greatly improves the results achieved.

 The combination of meteorological monitoring with the technology for maintaining the bar at the desired height provides the producer with a complete solution for the successful control of different crop pests and diseases. The rural producer gains in profitability and the crop reaches high levels of quality, in line with Brazilian production, which is one of the best in the world.