Sustainable Use of Pesticide Applications in Citrus: A Support Tool for Volume Rate Adjustment.

Cruz Garcerá,Enrique Moltó,Alberto Fonte,Patricia Chueca

doi:10.3390/ijerph14070715

Abstract

Rational application of pesticides by properly adjusting the amount of product to the actual needs and specific conditions for application is a key factor for sustainable plant protection. However, current plant protection product (PPP) labels registered for citrus in EU are usually expressed as concentration (%; rate/hl) and/or as the maximum dose of product per unit of ground surface, without taking into account those conditions. In this work, the fundamentals of a support tool, called CitrusVol, developed to recommend mix volume rates in PPP applications in citrus orchards using airblast sprayers, are presented. This tool takes into consideration crop characteristics (geometry, leaf area density), pests, and product and application efficiency, and it is based on scientific data obtained previously regarding the minimum deposit required to achieve maximum efficacy, efficiency of airblast sprayers in citrus orchards, and characterization of the crop. The use of this tool in several commercial orchards allowed a reduction of the volume rate and the PPPs used in comparison with the commonly used by farmers of between 11% and 74%, with an average of 31%, without affecting the efficacy. CitrusVol is freely available on a website and in an app for smartphones.

Highlights

The production and consumption of plant products play a very important role in the society, but the yield from plant production is continually threatened by harmful organisms, pests and diseases.It is essential to protect plants against such organisms in order to prevent their damage or a reduction in yield, and ensure both the quality of the products harvested as well as high agricultural productivity.Protecting plants from the effects of these organisms can be performed in many ways, but nowadays the most common methods are based on using plant protection products (PPPs)
The objective of the present work was to design a tool to help citrus growers in the process of choosing the appropriate volume rate to be applied in their orchards, taking into account the size, the geometry and the foliar density of the target canopies, the pest to be controlled, the product to be applied, and the efficiency of airblast applications in citrus
The CitrusVol tool was designed to help citrus growers in the process of choosing the appropriate volume rate to be applied in their orchards, taking into account the size, the geometry and the foliar density of the target canopies, the pest/disease to be controlled and the product to be applied

Summary

Introduction

It is essential to protect plants against such organisms in order to prevent their damage or a reduction in yield, and ensure both the quality of the products harvested as well as high agricultural productivity. Protecting plants from the effects of these organisms can be performed in many ways, but nowadays the most common methods are based on using plant protection products (PPPs). Their use implies that PPP residues remain in food and find their way into the environment, there is an important social pressure towards the development of measures for reducing the residues in food, minimizing the impact of pesticides on the environment and reducing and controlling the risks associated with their application. Applying large quantities of product is fairly common today in order to ensure results, without taking into account that this practice normally entails an excessive release of products that remain in the food and pollute the environment

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