Influence of drone spray rate on the spray deposition and control of Diatraea saccharalis in sugarcane cultivation

• Grant number: 24/14941-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• End date: November 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Evandro Pereira Prado
• Grantee: Paulo Henrique Scholl da Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Tecnológicas. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Dracena. Dracena , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is one of the main pests of sugarcane, which can reduce this crop's quality and productive potential. This study uses drones to evaluate the influence of spray rate on spraying parameters and control efficiency of D. saccharalis in sugarcane crops. The study to determine the percentage of coverage and density of droplets will be carried out on water-sensitive paper and spray deposition with Brilliant Blue dye. Both spray parameter studies will be conducted in the field at a completely randomized design with 4 treatments (10, 15, 20, and 25 L ha-1) and 12 replications. The D. saccharalis control experiment will be conducted with a randomized block design with 5 treatments and 4 replications. All experiments will be carried out in the experimental station of Viterra Bioenergia S.A. mill based in the municipality of Junqueirópolis-SP. The drone used in the spraying will be the DJI T40. The values of coverage percentage, droplet density, spray deposits, and the number of plants attacked by the borer in each treatment will be subjected to analysis of variance and, when significant, the means will be compared using the Tukey test (p<0.05). The uniformity of distribution of coverage percentage, droplet density, and deposition will be analyzed by the coefficient of variation.