Efficiency Study of Different Spraying Techniques in the Control of Potato Yellow Broad Mite (Polyphagotarsonemus latus Banks)

Potato yellow broad mite (Polyphagotarsonemus latus Banks) is a serious pest of fallseason potato cultivation in Jiroft Region. Application of acaricides is usually done to protect mite pest damages. The main aim of the study is to compare the efficiency of different sprayers in the control of the mite pests so as to reduce the pesticide consumption. In this study the efficiency of 4 different types of sprayers including: knapsack micronear sprayers (model: KP 4000-N10 (KM), motorized knapsack mist blowers sprayer with electrostatic head (MKME), motorized knapsack mist blowers sprayer with common head (MKM) and hydraulic motorized sprayer on trolley (HMT) were compared by using two doses (0.75 and 0.5 l/hec) of bromopropilate EC 25%. The experiment was carried out on the basis of randomized complete block design (RCBD) with factorial test in 3 replications. The results show that there is a significant difference between the efficiency of the sprayers in the control of mite pest. Mortality percent caused by MKME 85±6.1) and MKM (83±6.9) were higher than the other sprayers. The amount of acaricide applied through KM, MKME, MKM and HMT were recorded as 56, 37.8, 100 and 563 liters per hectare respectively. Physical distribution of the insecticide droplets on potato leaf showed that MKME and MKM had the best coverage on plants. Therefore we recommend MKME and MKM sprayers for the chemical control of this pest.