Efficiency of advanced sprayers for nutrient and pesticide application under precision cultivation of spring rapeseed (Brassica napus)

Precision agriculture, which consist of using farming inputs has become the third wave of the modern agriculture revolution in the globe. Evaluation of newly developed technology is necessary before dissemination. Therefore, a study was conducted during 2017-18 in the conditions of the Central Chernozem of the Russian Federation, Voronezh region to study the effectiveness of the new generation sprayer Amazone UX 11200 Isobus in comparison with Amazone UX 5200 Amaspray for using complex tank mixtures that include, the level of intensity of farming inputs such as pesticides and mineral fertilizers. The highest increase in productivity and oil collection per unit area were observed for intensive farming input of Amazone UX Isobus application technology with the value of 2.91 t/ha and 1272 kg/ha, with an enhancement of 89.0 and 86.2% compared to the control, respectively. The effect of precision spraying on reducing the level of intra-field variability of the segmental component of agro-phytocenosis with intensive cultivation technology (from 22.5 to 8.9%) revealed allowing an increase in the efficiency of using these tank mixtures to the tune of 91-97%. The manifestation of the stabilizing effect, on an average, according to the experience was 210%. The economic efficiency of intensive technology in comparison with the basic technology allowed us to reduce the consumption of plant protection products by 5-7%. © 2020, Gaurav Society of Agricultural Research Information Centre. All rights reserved.