The aim of this study was to evaluate the sprayed liquid deposition in potato crop and the droplet spectrum, promoted by aerial and ground applications. The experiment was conducted in duplicate, in commercial potato crops, in completely randomized design, in a factorial model 6 x 2: six application methods (aerial, with rotative atomizer at 15 and 30 L ha-1, and ground, at 200 and 400 L ha-1 with air induction twin flat-fan and hollow-cone nozzles) and with two spray liquid compositions (water and water plus phosphatydilcoline + propionic acid adjuvant). It was evaluated spray liquid deposition in the crop canopy, run-off and drift, by addition of a tracer for quantification by spectrophotometry technique and the droplet spectrum by image analysis of water-sensitive papers. In general, the adjuvant addition provided a better spray liquid retention into lower and upper leaves. The decrease of spray volume provided a good spray liquid deposition on target that was contribute for an increase of the operational capacity. The aerial application was as efficient as the ground applications on the spray liquid deposition on the target. The use of adjuvant did not modify the volume median diameter and the percentage of spray volume in droplets smaller than 100 µm diameter.
aerial application; drift; spray nozzle; droplet spectrum
