Possibilities of using dropleg-technique in horticulture and field crops

Abstract

Dropleg-technique is a spaying equipment that allows sub-canopy treatments of plant protection products in row crops in horticulture and field crops as oilseed rape, maize or potatoes. Besides fungicides, insecticides and herbicides droplegs can be used for the application of liquid fertilizer. Using dropleg-technique benefits the accumulation of active substances on plant parts that are difficult to achieve, resulting in an effective control. Additionally the risk for spray drift due to wind can be reduced. By using dropleg-technique in flowering oilseed rape, pollinators and beneficial insects can be protected and residues of plant protection products in nectar and pollen can be reduced. However, there are also disadvantages combined with dropleg-technique. Folding some field crop sprayers with droplegs can be difficult. Furthermore, in some trials application of plant protection products with droplegs resulted in a lower efficacy in controlling some insect pests compared to conventional application technique, for example cabbage seed weevil and brassica pod midge in oilseed rape.