pjwrc.co.uk
Introduction
PACE
DoseAdjustment
LiDAR
DoseTranslation
Comments
PACE research and the need for pesticide dose adjustment
Pesticide manufacturers often increase the normal margin-for-error on the label recommended dose-rate to ensure that reliable efficacy is achieved with orchard spraying products across a broad range of target structures.
However, the practical experience of some fruit growers demonstrated that label recommended dose-rates can be reduced in some circumstances without a significant reduction of efficacy.
For the range of tree fruit structures cultivated in the UK, PACE research established a method for
optimising the adjustment of dose-rate
based on data from a
tractor mounted scanning LiDAR system
.
The method was later simplified to make use of
grower assessment of canopy density and height
using a published leaflet.
A single webpage now provides an alternative to the paper leaflet and improves the quality control over the
calculation of label dose-rate adjustment
.
This technology simplifies the selection of inputs to describe: the sprayer set-up, the appropriate pesticide category and the orchard canopy structure (i.e. density and height).
The website can be easily adapted to: increase the range of orchard structure information and improve the generality of underpinning theory.