Location: Application Technology Research
Project Number: 5082-21620-001-021-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2022
End Date: Aug 31, 2025
Objective:
1. Integrate a commercially available Intelligent Spray System (ISS) with degree-day modelling to improve application timing.
2. Investigate the use of biological and organic fungicides with the ISS in blueberry and wine grape systems.
3. Organize an annual extension event series to demonstrate precision spray systems and facilitate ISS adoption.
Approach:
1. Plant and pest models will be used, along with spray volume records of the ISS, to target specific spray volumes to specific plant or pest growth stages. These applications will be conducted on research farms with different rates of specific pesticides to determine the most efficient and effective rates and application practices using the ISS in Oregon specialty crop systems. Applications will be verified as effective by taking plant disease or pest efficacy data, in addition to evaluating sprayer coverage with water sensitive cards.
2. Field trials will be conducted at research farms and commercial organic farms to investigate biological fungicide application regimes and rates that are effective when using the ISS in blueberry and wine grape systems.
3. Our team will organize an annual series of sprayer related field days to connect with farmers and demonstrate precision spray technologies that improve application efficiency. These events will be tailored to the time of year. In the spring a calibration workshop will be organized, then in the summer a coverage verification and sprayer optimization workshop, and in the fall a general maintenance and winterization workshop. At each of these events continuing education credits will be offered to participants in support of their pesticide application licenses. Our team will collaborate with a commercial user of the ISS system when scheduling field days.
