Association between air-assistance and electrically charged droplets on whitefly control in soybean

Abstract

The whitefly has worried producers about crops such as Glycine max due to the serious damage they can cause. Air-assisted spraying aims to improve droplet penetration within the crop canopy, while spraying with electrically charged droplets improve coverage of the abaxial leaf surface, where whiteflies predominantly inhabit. The objective of present study was to evaluate the effect of air-assisted spraying and electrically charged droplets on Bemisia tabaci control in soybeans, focusing on surface coverage, pesticide deposition, droplet size, and crop yield. The experiment, conducted in a greenhouse during the 2020/21 season, utilized a randomized block design with five treatments: conventional spraying, air-assisted spraying, electrically charged droplets, combined air-assisted and charged droplet spraying, and an untreated control, each with four replicates. Droplet electrification and air assistance did not alter droplet size or increase surface coverage. However, charged droplets and their combination with air assistance improved foliar pesticide deposition compared to conventional spraying. Whitefly nymph numbers were reduced relative to the control. The spraying carried out with the aid of air in association with electrically charged drops in the settings of the sprayers that are used in the productive crops did not change the yield of the soybean and the control of the whitefly concerning the conventional application. As there was no significant positive impact in whitefly control, the use of air assistance and charged droplets can be dispensed with in some situations, reducing production costs without compromising efficacy.