Control of Insects and Diseases with Intelligent Variable-rate Sprayers in Ornamental Nurseries1

Abstract Intelligent spray technology can reduce pesticide use and safeguard the environment; however, its ability to effectively control insects and disease must be validated before its adoption by growers. Comparative tests for two different laser-guided variable-rate intelligent sprayers and the same sprayers with conventional constant-rate mode were conducted to control pests at two ornamental nurseries in two growing seasons in Ohio. Crabapple [Malus ‘Sutyzam’ (Sugar Tyme®), M. sargentii], apple (Malus pumila), maple [Acer ×freemanii ‘Jeffersred' (Autumn Blaze®), A. rubrum ‘Franksred' (Red Sunset®) and A. rubrum], birch (Betula nigra and Betula populifolia ‘Whitespire'), London planetree (Platanus ×acerifolia ‘Bloodgood') and dogwood (Cornus florida) were used as the test plants. Intelligent spray technology reduced pesticide use by 56.1% and 51.8% on average at the two nurseries, respectively. Compared to conventional air-assisted sprayers, severity of scab on apple trees and powdery mildew in dogwood was reduced on intelligent spray-treated plants at one nursery, and there were equal or fewer leafhoppers in maple trees and aphids in birch trees when sprayed using intelligent spray technology at both nurseries. These results suggest that intelligent, variable-rate sprayers achieve equivalent or greater insect and disease control in ornamental tree nurseries compared to conventional, constant-rate sprayers. Index words: aphid, apple scab, environmental protection, leafhopper, precision spray, powdery mildew, sustainable. Species used in this study: apple (Malus pumila Mill), birches (Betula nigra L, Betula populifolia Marsh. ‘Whitespire'), crabapples [Malus ‘Sutyzam' (Sugar Tyme®), M. sargentii Rehder], dogwood (Cornus florida L.), maples [Acer ×freemanii E. Murray ‘Jeffersred' (Autumn Blaze®), A. rubrum L. ‘Franksred'(Red Sunset®) and A. rubrum L.], London planetree [Platanus ×acerifolia (Ait.) Willd. ‘Bloodgood'].

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EFFECTS OF SEASONAL FUNGICIDE SPRAYS ON PERITHECIUM FORMATION AND ASCOSPORE PRODUCTION IN VENTURIA INAEQUALIS

Canadian Journal of Plant Science ◽

10.4141/cjps75-115 ◽

1975 ◽

Vol 55 (3) ◽

pp. 737-742 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

R. G. ROSS ◽

R. J. NEWBERY

Keyword(s):

Venturia Inaequalis ◽

Apple Scab ◽

Malus Pumila ◽

In Vitro Production ◽

Ascospore Discharge ◽

Malus Pumila Mill ◽

Terminal Shoot ◽

Vitro Production ◽

Ascospore Production

Seasonal sprays of the systemic fungicides benomyl, thiophanate-methyl, Bay Dam 18654 and Bavistin applied for the control of apple scab, Venturia inaequalis (Cke.) Wint., either completely or almost completely suppressed the production of ascospores in apple (Malus pumila Mill.) leaves overwintered in the orchard. In vitro production of perithecia on leaves sterilized with propylene oxide was also inhibited by these sprays, although some treatments suppressed ascospore discharge in overwintered leaves that failed to inhibit perithecium formation on the sterile leaves. Ascospore production was also reduced in leaves from spur clusters that had been sprayed with Dikar and metiram. In terminal shoot leaves from Dikar-sprayed trees, ascospore production was higher in leaves collected from near the tip than in leaves collected from near the base of the terminal growth.

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Control of Insect Pests and Diseases in an Ohio Fruit Farm with a Laser-guided Intelligent Sprayer

HortTechnology ◽

10.21273/horttech04497-19 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 168-175 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Liming Chen ◽

Matthew Wallhead ◽

Michael Reding ◽

Leona Horst ◽

Heping Zhu

Keyword(s):

Powdery Mildew ◽

Prunus Persica ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Venturia Inaequalis ◽

Oriental Fruit Moth ◽

Pesticide Use ◽

Variable Rate ◽

Black Raspberry ◽

Drosophila Suzukii ◽

Spray Applications

Laser-guided variable-rate intelligent spray technology is designed to significantly reduce pesticide use with a positive impact on the environment. However, there have been no reports on applying this technology to commercial fruit farms. Comparative experiments of intelligent variable-rate and conventional constant-rate spray applications for pesticide use and pest control were conducted at a fruit farm in Ohio during two consecutive growing seasons. Apple (Malus pumila), peach (Prunus persica), blueberry (Vaccinium section Cyanococcus), and black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis) were used for the tests. Pest severity of codling moth (Cydia pomonella), oriental fruit moth (Grapholitha molesta), scab (Venturia inaequalis), and powdery mildew (Podosphaera leucotricha) in apple; oriental fruit moth, brown rot (Monilinia fructicola), and powdery mildew (Podosphaera pannosa) in peach; spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii), mummy berry (Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi), and phomopsis (Phomopsis vaccinii) in blueberry; and anthracnose (Elsinoe veneta) in black raspberry were assessed. There was equal severity of pests between intelligent and conventional spray applications, whereas the intelligent spray reduced pesticide use by 58.7%, 30.6%, 47.9%, and 52.5% on average for apple, peach, blueberry, and black raspberry, respectively. These results illustrate that intelligent spray technology is more environmentally friendly than conventional standard spray technology and equally or more effective for control of insect and disease pests in fruit production.

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Reducing the Nursery Pesticide Footprint with Laser-guided, Variable-rate Spray Application Technology

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci16157-21 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Lauren Fessler ◽

Amy Fulcher ◽

Liesel Schneider ◽

Wesley C. Wright ◽

Heping Zhu

Keyword(s):

Powdery Mildew ◽

Variable Rate ◽

Spray Application ◽

Pesticide Application ◽

Air Blast ◽

Growing Seasons ◽

Wide Range ◽

Application Characteristics ◽

Deposit Density ◽

Control Disease

Nursery producers are challenged with growing a wide range of species with little to no detectable damage from insects or diseases. Growing plants that meet consumer demand for aesthetics has traditionally meant routine pesticide application using the most time-efficient method possible, an air-blast sprayer, despite its known poor pesticide application efficiency. New variable-rate spray technology allows growers to make more targeted applications and reduce off-target pesticide loss. In this study, a prototype laser-guided variable-rate sprayer was compared with a traditional air-blast sprayer. Pesticide volume, spray application characteristics, and the control of powdery mildew were evaluated over the course of two growing seasons. Spray application characteristics were assessed using water-sensitive cards (WSCs) and DepositScan software. This prototype sprayer reduced pesticide volume by an average of 54% across both years despite being tested against a low rate (<250 L⋅ha−1). In 2016, the conventional sprayer had more than double the deposit density on target WSCs among distal trees than the variable-rate sprayer; however, within proximal trees, there was no difference between the two sprayer types. In 2017, when the trees were larger, within both the distal and proximal trees, the conventional sprayer had greater deposit density on target WSCs than the variable-rate sprayer. In 2016, coverage on target WSCs was nearly 7-fold greater with the conventional treatment than with the variable-rate treatment. In 2017, when trees were larger, there was greater coverage on target WSCs in proximal trees (3.8%) compared with those in distal trees (1.0%) regardless of the sprayer type. This variable-rate spray technology provided acceptable control of powdery mildew severity on individual branches and whole trees and maintained the incidence of powdery mildew to levels comparable to that occurring among trees sprayed with a traditional air-blast sprayer. Therefore, the variable-rate spray technology has the potential to effectively control disease, dramatically reduce the pesticide footprint, and preserve natural resources such as ground and surface water, soil, and beneficial insects found within and around nurseries.

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Management of grape powdery mildew with an intelligent sprayer and sulfur

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-06-21-1164-re ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Brent Warneke ◽

Lloyd Nackley ◽

Jay W. Pscheidt

Keyword(s):

Powdery Mildew ◽

Pacific Northwest ◽

Pulse Width Modulation ◽

Variable Rate ◽

Agricultural Commodity ◽

Air Blast ◽

Spray System ◽

Constant Rate ◽

Spray Rate ◽

Grape Powdery Mildew

Wine grapes are an important agricultural commodity in the Pacific Northwest where grape powdery mildew (GPM) is one of the main disease problems. The efficacy of different sulfur concentrations and different output volumes from an air blast sprayer retrofitted with the Intelligent Spray System (ISS) were evaluated for the management of GPM. The ISS consists of a LiDAR sensor, Doppler speed sensor, embedded computer, flow controller, and individual pulse-width-modulation solenoid valves at each nozzle. GPM cluster severity ranged from 55% to 75% across all trials in the study when using the ISS at its default spray rate of 62.5 ml m-3 and micronized sulfur at 6 g L-1, which was significantly higher than all other fungicide treatments, but lower than non-treated controls. Similarly, leaf incidence values were highest on non-treated vines, followed by micronized sulfur at 6 g L-1 applied at 62.5 ml m-3 , with all other fungicide treatments being significantly lower in all trials. Using the ISS at the 62.5 ml m-3 rate and a rotation of locally systemic fungicides resulted in the lowest observed GPM leaf incidence, and average cluster severity of 11% in both 2019 and 2020, the lowest cluster severity of all fungicide treatments tested. GPM control using the ISS and micronized sulfur was equivalent to a constant-rate air blast treatment at 6 g L-1 when the spray rate of the ISS was increased to 125ml m-3, or if the concentration of sulfur was increased to 24 g L-1. In those cases, the amount of sulfur applied to vines was at or above the minimum label rate from bloom until the end of the season, or the entire season, respectively. This study has shown that sufficient disease control cannot always be expected when mixing pesticides at the same rate as would be used for a constant-rate sprayer in a variable rate sprayer, especially when using contact fungicides like sulfur . With appropriate adjustments, the variable-rate ISS can be a useful tool to reduce pesticide quantities, water required for mixing, and as a result labor, as fewer trips to refill for a given spray event are required.

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Management of Pest Insects and Plant Diseases in Fruit and Nursery Production with Laser-guided Variable-rate Sprayers

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci15491-20 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 56 (1) ◽

pp. 94-100

Author(s):

Liming Chen ◽

Heping Zhu ◽

Leona Horst ◽

Matthew Wallhead ◽

Michael Reding ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prunus Persica ◽

Insect Pests ◽

Field Tests ◽

Plant Diseases ◽

Variable Rate ◽

Pests And Diseases ◽

Growing Seasons ◽

Constant Rate ◽

Pest Insects ◽

Nursery Production

Laser-guided variable-rate intelligent spray technology is anticipated to reduce pesticide use in production of crops and safeguard the environment. However, the ability of this technology to effectively control insect pests and diseases of crops must be validated before it becomes part of integrated pest management programs. Abilities of three different intelligent sprayers were tested to control pest insects and plant diseases at one fruit farm and two ornamental nurseries in Ohio during three consecutive growing seasons. The same sprayers with disabled intelligent functions were used as conventional constant-rate applications for comparisons. Test crops were apple (Malus pumila), peach (Prunus persica), blueberry (Vaccinium sect. Cyanococcus), black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis), crabapple (Malus sp.), maple (Acer sp.), birch (Betula sp.), and dogwood (Cornus florida). There were five insects and six diseases total involved in the investigations in the fruit farm and two nurseries. The field tests showed the intelligent spray applications reduced pesticide and foliar fertilizer use by ≈30% to 65% on average during the 3-year experiments. At the same time, intelligent spray technology was similar or more effective than conventional spray technology when controlling insects and diseases on a variety of crops. These results demonstrated that intelligent spray technology was environmentally friendly and more effective for control of insect and disease pests in fruit farms and ornamental tree nurseries.

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