Redução de defensivos em áreas extensivas de soja e milho pela aplicação localizada em tempo real

Abstract

Currently, the producer's primary focus is to reduce the production cost, aiming at high productivity and, thus, increase the farm's profit. As a hypothesis of the work, we evaluated if there is a reduction of pesticides by using real-time spray application applied to soybean and corn crops. This work's objective was to quantify the reduction of pesticides applied to soybean and corn crops by using real-time spray application. During the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 crops, the experiment took place in two properties, in the municipality of Mineiros - GO. Each property used the John Deere self-propelled sprayer model 4730. In both sprayers, the real-time spray application system with plant detection sensors included Weed-It was installed. Applications were made in soybean crop, in the first season crop or summer crop, and corn after soybean as the second-year crop. Four applications were carried out in each crop period: in the soybean, the spray activities were desiccation, pre-planting, 1st application after emergence and defoliation; and in the corn crop, the spray activities were the 1 st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th applications in post-emergence. The equipment's electronic spray controller recorded the application maps. All data of the spray applications and application maps were extracted for statistical analysis. These spray maps recorded the spray boom percentage of the spray applied, turned on (on/off principle) with the nozzle to nozzle control. The data were processed using the ArcGis 10.5 software. A cost survey was carried out, and the economic analyses of the equipment used were calculated. For the soybean crop, the most significant reductions in pesticides were in applications for desiccation and pre-planting, at around 75%. There was a decrease in the reduction activities for the 1st spray application and defoliation activities, coming close to 50%, with an overall average of 70% reduction for the soybean crop. In the corn crop, the 1st, 2nd, and 3 rd spray applications presented the highest reduction averages, close to 55%. For the spraying of the 4th application in the corn crop, the reduction average showed a reduction, close to 35%, thus presenting an overall average of 50% reduction for the soybean crop. According to the equipment used's economic feasibility analysis, savings of 69.16% were achieved in products applied to soybean and corn crops in two evaluated harvests, showing a return on the investment made.