Intelligent Spray Technology

Tim Hammerich

News Reporter

New intelligent spray technology is capable of identifying and spraying only areas that are showing symptoms of disease. This could save farmers money in addition to having positive benefits for the environment.

But will it see widespread adoption?

Ivey… “I think the challenge is now moving this technology to be adopted by the grower.”

That’s Melanie Ivey of Ohio State University. She says the technology could be very helpful to speciality crop growers in particular, but it requires a degree of trust some may not feel comfortable with.

Ivey… “In terms of diseases, you need to be able to prove that you will get equivalent, if not better control using the intelligence sprayer technology compared to the conventional sprayer. And one of the issues is convincing the grower that what is going on to the crop in terms of pesticide will be effective. Because traditionally they've worked with these air blast sprayers, where you get these huge plumes of pesticide that you can visibly see. Where with the intelligence sprayer it's so directed, and the volume depends on so many different factors, that sometimes it's hard to see the spray coming out, or it's hard to see any residue on the plant.”

Ivey indicated that it will likely for this intelligent spray technology to earn farmers’ trust over time, so that they can rest easy that their hard work, and money, are not going to waste.