Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List

Full text release has been delayed at the author's request until May 10, 2024

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Validation of a Laser-Guided Intelligent Sprayer and Warning System for Management of Disease and Insect Pests of Specialty Crops

Wodzicki, Lianna Marie
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1641377587279629

Abstract Details

, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Plant Pathology.
Grape and apple growers in the Midwestern and Northeastern United States typically apply pesticides using airblast sprayers 12-16 times each year to manage insects and disease. However, the airblast sprayer has very low application efficiency with great chemical losses to non-target areas. Intelligent sprayer technology (IST) automatically optimizes spray outputs based on crop canopy architecture to reduce pesticide volume and waste. The integration of disease warning systems with the intelligent technology has the potential to further reduce the amount of fungicide input into an apple production system. This study seeks to validate IST in grape and apple production systems as an economical and environmentally sustainable option to effectively manage insects and disease in these intensively managed systems. In addition, the integration of a summer apple disease warning system with IST in apple orchards to enhance sustainability was tested. Furthermore, it can be difficult attaining grower adoption of new technologies, especially those that require a significant economic investment. For that reason, two demonstration trials were conducted at commercial apple orchards in Ohio where growers evaluated intelligent sprayer technology against their own airblast sprayers retro-fitted with intelligent technology. During a 3-year and 2-year study on grape and apple respectively, yield in IST treated plots was greater than or equivalent to yields in airblast-sprayed plots. In grape, foliar fungal and oomycete disease management using IST at a high spray rate (0.13 L/m3) was comparable to conventional airblast technology, and disease progression was significantly slower than in non-treated control plots (P<0.0001). Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) herbivory was significantly lower in grape vines treated with insecticide compared to plots that were not treated (P=0.0163), and there was no difference in herbivory between grape plots treated with either IST or conventional airblast technology. The amount of pesticide applied to grapevines with IST varied depending on the phenological stage of the vine but was always significantly less than the amount dispensed from the conventional airblast sprayer (P<0.0001). Overall, there was a 35% to 93% reduction in volume using IST at a low rate and 29% to 91% reduction in volume using IST at a high spray rate, compared to the volume dispensed by the conventional airblast sprayer. Percent pesticide spray coverage was consistently higher with the conventional airblast sprayer as compared to IST (P<0.0001). Mean percent spray coverage was 70 ± 4.4% with the conventional airblast sprayer, significantly higher than the IST at the low (30 ± 4.6%) and high spray (50 ± 4.1) rates (P<0.0001). Apple marketable yield at two commercial orchards was consistently greater than 90% fruit per tree when applying pesticides using intelligent or airblast technology (P<0.0701). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the apple trial had a large buildup of inoculum that resulted in marketable yields below 10% even when using the airblast sprayer technology. However, there was no difference in disease incidence on apple trees that were treated with pesticide following the calendar-based program or the warning system program. Incidence of insect damage was not significantly different between airblast and IST-sprayed apples. However, IST used 29% to 93% less pesticide volume on apple and grape crops, respectively. Additionally, the disease warning system reduced the overall number of fungicide cover applications from eight to four. Reduced pesticide volume did not affect percent coverage efficacy on grape or apple, which was maintained at 20 to 50% when using IST. Cost of pesticides was reduced when using IST by 42% and 78% on grape and 80% to 84% on apple. An additional savings of 9.7-8.3% was achieved when combining either spray technology with the disease warning system. As more growers adopt IST and the flyspeck and sooty blotch (SBFS) disease warning system into their specialty crop systems, the potential exists to use this new technology to transform fruit production systems into safer environments for agricultural labor forces and non-target organisms, while also improving profit margin for growers.
Melanie Lewis Ivey, Dr. (Advisor)
Laurence Madden, Dr. (Committee Member)
Heping Zhu, Dr. (Committee Member)
Elizabeth Long, Dr. (Advisor)
Agricultural Engineering; Agriculture; Plant Pathology; Sustainability
Grape; Apple; Intelligent Sprayer Technology, Specialty Crops

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Wodzicki, L. M. (n.d.). Validation of a Laser-Guided Intelligent Sprayer and Warning System for Management of Disease and Insect Pests of Specialty Crops [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1641377587279629

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Wodzicki, Lianna. Validation of a Laser-Guided Intelligent Sprayer and Warning System for Management of Disease and Insect Pests of Specialty Crops. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1641377587279629.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Wodzicki, Lianna. "Validation of a Laser-Guided Intelligent Sprayer and Warning System for Management of Disease and Insect Pests of Specialty Crops." Master's thesis, Ohio State University. Accessed APRIL 25, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1641377587279629

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1641377587279629
© , some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Validation of a Laser-Guided Intelligent Sprayer and Warning System for Management of Disease and Insect Pests of Specialty Crops by Lianna Marie Wodzicki is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.