ABSTRACT An adequate combination of factors involved in the technology used for phytosanitary product application contributes to an efficient spray deposition on the target. The objective of this study was to use multivariate analysis to characterize the magnitude of effects and the order of influence of three factors that interfere with the quality of phytosanitary product application in coffee plants. An entirely randomized design was adopted, with four repetitions, using a 2 × 2 × 3 factorial scheme, with two classes of droplets quality (fine and coarse), two application rates (250 and 400 L ha-1), and the use of adjuvants (with no adjuvant or with Fighter®and Aureo® adjuvants). The quality of the application was determined by jointly analyzing the spray deposition on three thirds of leaves, in their internal and external layers, the runoff to soil, coverage, droplet density, relative amplitude, and the volumetric median diameter. The results underwent analysis of variance (ANOVA) to measure the effect sizes (η2). After testing the assumptions of multivariate analysis, clustering and principal component analyses were performed. The class of droplets was found to be the most influential factor in the quality of the phytosanitary product application (spray deposition and runoff to soil). When focusing on spray deposition on leaves, the second-most influential factor was the application rate and the relation between the application rate and the adjuvants. For the other variables, the second-most influential factor was the application rate.

ABSTRACT The hardness and pH of the spray water can interfere with the weed control effectiveness with herbicides, but it is not clear the magnitude of this interference, mainly associating different levels of pH and hardness to different glyphosate formulations. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of hardness and pH, in association, of the water used in the application of two glyphosate formulations on the weed control effectiveness. The experiment was conducted in duplicate, in areas with a predominance of Digitaria horizontalis, under a randomized block design with a 4×4×2+1 factorial scheme, composed of four water hardness levels (70, 110, 230, and 430 ppm CaCO3), four pH levels (3.5, 4.5, 5.5, and 6.5), two glyphosate formulations (ammonium salt and potassium salt), and control without application, with four repetitions. The physicochemical characteristics of the spray solutions and the weed control effectiveness were evaluated at 7, 14, and 21 days after application (DAA). The water pH at the studied range did not interfere with the control effectiveness. The increase in hardness reduced the control at 7 DAA, but this difference was not noticed after 21 DAA. Glyphosate ammonium salt promoted higher control of D. horizontalis than that with potassium salt, regardless of water hardness and pH.