Efficiency of different Spraying techniques for microbial pesticide, Bacillus thuringiensis in controlling diamondback moth

This project was aimed to investigate the efficiency of different spraying techniques for spraying the suspension of microbial biocontrol agent (Bacillus thuringiensis) for the control of diamondback moth. However different studies have shown that spraying methods of microbial pesticides have fundamental differences with chemical pesticides and sprayers suitable for such products have to be employed. Four types of sprayers including conventional hydraulic sprayer, conventional atomizer sprayer, electrostatic sprayer and atomizer micronaire (rotating) were used. The experiment was designed in the randomized complete block design with four treatments in three replications in a field infested with the larvae of diamondback moth. Water-sensitive cards were used to determine the coverage and droplet size of the pesticide. For this experiment sprayers were evaluated in terms of their physical characteristics such as the way it sprays and the amount of solution required per hectare. The results show that there were no significant differences among the treatments considering their pest control efficiency. Moreover, atomizer micronaire sprayer due to the good performance, low consumption and daily efficiency can be used for spraying Bt to control diamondback moth in cabbage fields. It is noteworthy that the atomizer micronaire due to its ability to micronize the droplets produce a uniform dispersion and could be considered as a good alternative for hydraulic sprayers.