IMPROVING HERBICIDE TREATMENT EFFICACY AND REDUCING PESTICIDE LOAD THROUGH THE USE OF SURFACTANTS IN SPRING WHEAT CROPS IN THE STEPPE ZONE OF THE AKMOLA REGION

Abstract

The article presents the results of two-year studies conducted in the steppe zone of the Akmola region in 2025-2026 to assess the effectiveness of herbicidal treatment while reducing the volume of working fluid using a polymer sticking agent. In the experiment, the herbicidal treatment of 2,4-D at a dose of 0.5 l/ha with a working fluid flow rate of 200, 100, 50 and 25 l/ha, as well as similar options with the addition of Vitanoll at a dose of 100 ml/ha, was studied. The research objective was to determine the possibility of switching to low-volume technology of spraying spring wheat crops while maintaining high efficiency of weed control and reducing the potential pesticide load. With the addition of Vitanoll 100 ml/ha wetting agent, the efficiency due to the uniform coating of the treated surface with drops of the working solution was 84-86%. In the variant with a working fluid flow rate of -100 l/ha+ Vitanoll at a dose of 100 ml/ha, a significant increase in the yield of spring wheat by 16.5% was obtained, compared to the option with the same working fluid consumption of -14.8%. It was found that the use of surfactants can significantly reduce the effective rates of herbicide application, increase the biological efficiency of treatment and reduce costs. The developed technological techniques will be directly recommended for implementation in the practice of intensive crop production in the cultivation of grain crops in the region.