Document Type : Original Article

Author

• Mansoureh Mozaffari Gonbari

Department of Agricultural Engineering Research, East Azarbaijan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Abstract

Alfalfa weevil is a serious pest of this crop and the lack of its control, leads destroying the first harvest and retardation of second harvest. Farmers' lack of familiarity with proper spraying methods causes them to spray their fields with common, high-concentration pesticides. The use of inappropriate equipments and excessive spraying have destructive effects on the environment, especially on beneficial insects active in alfalfa fields. So, in this study, the effective parameters in chemical control of alfalfa pests were studied and effects of sprayer type and time and repetition of spraying on alfalfa weevil control was investigated. The measured parameters in this study were droplet characteristics, pest population, crop yield and yield’s lost caused by this pest. The results showed significant differences between sprayer types, spraying times, repetition of spraying. The yield results indicated significant difference between spraying times, frequency of spraying and interaction of them. Comparison of yield of control and treatments showed that no spraying reduced yield by 31 to 50 percent.

Keywords

• Alfalfa weevil
• Droplet characteristics
• Sprayer types
• spraying
• time of spraying