July/August 2024 - 6

PEST & DISEASE CONTROL
Smart tech
wipes out pests
A look at the latest trends in spraying automation
BY KEITH LORIA
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
I
nnovative spraying technology can help manage
pests and diseases threats, which can significantly
harm fruit and tree nut crops, affecting yield and
quality. The new tech helps ensure healthy crops and
abundant production.
Responsible use of spraying technology aligns
with sustainable farming practices by protecting
crops, conserving resources and minimizing the
environmental impact.
After all, targeted spraying allows for precise
application of pesticides, reduces the overall amount
used and minimizes potential harm to beneficial insects
and surrounding ecosystems.
Controlling the application rate
Smart Apply, a kit that can be added to virtually any
new or used air blast, over-the-row or GUSS autonomous
sprayer, combines LiDAR (light detection and ranging)powered
precision spraying with automated data
collection of each spray event, unique in the industry,
according to Smart Apply.
Gary Vandenbark, chief engineer of Indianapolisbased
Smart Apply, works with fruit and nut growers
6 | JULY/AUGUST 2024
in their orchards and was instrumental in creating the
Smart Apply System, the development of GEN2 and
ongoing enhancements.
" If you think about a tree or vine crop, we're really
trying to spray the foliage or canopy, but everything that
has been developed has always been about gallons per
acre, " he said. Vandenbark explains how Smart Apply's
LiDAR senses the presence of trees/vines, adjusting
spray volume based on size and density of individual
plants to optimize protection and avoid over spraying.
" You can also generate great savings by not spraying the
air or the ground, " he said.
There are numerous operational and sustainability
benefits of the system. For instance, Vandenbark noted
how Smart Apply reduces chemical use and costs by an
average of 50%, water use by an average of 50%, cuts
runoff up to 92% and airborne drift by up to 87%.
" We use pulse width modulation and that gives us the
ability to do a variable rate application on an individual
nozzle basis, " Vandenbark said. " If you have 20 vertical
nozzles on each side of the sprayer, we can use the LiDAR
to break up the zones as we look at the canopy and utilize
the spray nozzles. "
The system was invented in 2006, running by 2009,
and tested for 12 years by the USDA before it was
commercialized by Smart Apply in 2019 for the industry,
so it's still fairly new.
Over the Row Sprayer with
Smart Apply System. Photo
courtesy of Smart Apply.

July/August 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July/August 2024

Editor's Letter
Smart tech wipes out pests
FIRA preview
Labor challenges persist
VGN 2024 Labor Survey results
Vidalia onion robotics
Great Lakes EXPO 2024
Veg Connections
Farm Market & Agritourism
Ag Labor Review
Classifieds
Advertiser Index
July/August 2024 - 1
July/August 2024 - 2
July/August 2024 - 3
July/August 2024 - Editor's Letter
July/August 2024 - 5
July/August 2024 - Smart tech wipes out pests
July/August 2024 - 7
July/August 2024 - 8
July/August 2024 - 9
July/August 2024 - FIRA preview
July/August 2024 - 11
July/August 2024 - Labor challenges persist
July/August 2024 - 13
July/August 2024 - VGN 2024 Labor Survey results
July/August 2024 - 15
July/August 2024 - Vidalia onion robotics
July/August 2024 - 17
July/August 2024 - 18
July/August 2024 - 19
July/August 2024 - 20
July/August 2024 - 21
July/August 2024 - Great Lakes EXPO 2024
July/August 2024 - 23
July/August 2024 - Veg Connections
July/August 2024 - 25
July/August 2024 - Farm Market & Agritourism
July/August 2024 - 27
July/August 2024 - Ag Labor Review
July/August 2024 - 29
July/August 2024 - Classifieds
July/August 2024 - Advertiser Index
July/August 2024 - 32
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2020
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