The Pesticide Application Technology group at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln ‘s West Central Research and Extension Center (WCREC) in North Platte, NE, is dedicated to investigating aspects of pesticide applications, with emphasis on efficacy and drift. We are utilizing new technologies, including laser diffraction systems in a static chamber, a low-speed wind tunnel and a high-speed wind tunnel, to explore application methods and technologies, such as nozzle selection, adjuvant chemistry, sprayer set up, and wind speed. Our goal is to understand how these factors and others interact to influence spray quality, pesticide efficacy, and drift.
We have formed close partnerships with both industry and academic collaborators, including Wilbur-Ellis Co., The Aerial Application Technology team within the USDA-ARS, and the University of Queensland, Australia. It is our mission to work with these groups and others interested in maximizing pesticide efficacy and mitigating pesticide drift. We feel that these research efforts are critical to ensuring that yield loss due to pests does not jeopardize our ability to create food, fiber and fuel for a growing world population as well as ensure the health and sustainability of humankind and our environment.
This application will allow custom applicators and growers the ability to easily predict the spray quality of their application before it is applied. The user can input nozzle type, spray angle, orifice size, spray pressure, and solution and the application will calculate the spray quality based on our research. The user will be able to save these results or e-mail them to another person or company. This application will also give the droplet size spectrum for the various input parameters which will allow the applicator to have a sense of the potential of the spray to drift.
As our research program moves forward, more data points will be added such that any ground applicator can have access to the most up to date information on spray quality.