Assessing Water Sensitive Paper – Part 2

This is part two of our three-part monster-article on methods for digitizing and processing water sensitive paper. You can read part one here. Image analysis software There are many choices of software designed to analyze digitized WSP images (E.g. Optomax, Stainalysis Freeware, DropVision, ImagePro Plus, DropletScan, AgroScan, DepositScan, UTHSCA ImageTool). Some were developed for aerial […]

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Comparing three brands of water sensitive paper

Introduction Spray coverage describes the degree of contact between spray droplets and the target surface area. This metric can be used to predict the success of an application. One of the easiest methods for visualizing coverage is to use water sensitive paper (WSP), which is a passive, artificial collector that turns from yellow to blue […]

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Greenhouse foggers

Greenhouse application equipment spans from the humble squirt bottle, to gas-powered foggers, to robots equipped with hydraulic vertical booms. The variety of spray equipment available reflects a variety of needs, just as a carpenter’s toolbox contains different tools designed to do different things. In order to get the most out of foggers and misters, it’s […]

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Crop-Adapted Spraying (CAS) and an Apple Orchard Case Study

The ultimate goal of CAS is to adapt the amount of active ingredient per unit ground area such that the amount of active ingredient per unit target area (usually the leaf area) remains constant for canopies of varying shape and density. When this is achieved with sufficient accuracy, the pesticide efficacy is maintained. These three plants are all significantly different in size. When calibration is appropriate to each plant, the foliar coverage “experienced” for each plant will be the same, in spite of differences in the amount of solution expelled per ground area.

An orchard spraying scenario Here’s a common situation: An orchardist following IPM identifies a pest that poses an economic threat. It’s an annual pest and spraying is really a matter of when, not if. The operation is 150 acres and runs three airblast sprayers; two have a tower and one does not. Multiple varieties are […]

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Optimizing Sprayer Air Settings – Part 2

This is part two of a two part article on how to optimize the match between the sprayer air and the target canopy. You can find the first part here. For a more fulsome description of the process, consult chapters 3, 9, 10, and 11 of Airblast101. Evaluating air energy – Ribbon test part 2 […]

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