Investigators: Francis J. Pierce, Feng Kang, Patrick Scharf, Qin Zhang
This device is developed for practicing barrier application for cutworm control and chemical control of suckers in vineyards and high density tree fruit orchards. It applies a target recognition system detect plant trunks and control a multi-nozzle spraying system rapidly and precisely applying chemicals to obtain an adequate coverage on plant trunks. Spray efficiency tests showed that targeted applications applied higher application densities at <10% of the spray volume than commercial applications with about 65-70% of the spray hitting the target under the environmental conditions tested. The trailer targeted sprayer for cutworm control performed well and would greatly reduce insecticide application costs and open up opportunities for alternative control products that are more desirable but prohibitively expensive in larger application volumes used in conventional application systems.
Contact: Qin Zhang (qinzhang@wsu.edu, or 509-786-9360) if interested in adopting or transferring this technology.