Progress 11/19/15 to 09/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience of this project was growers of agricultural crops and others involved in using pesticides for protection of crops against pests, diseases and insects. The other audiences who benefitted from this research include: researchers at academic institutions, pesticide companies and their technical staff who advise users of their products, Extension educators, students in Universities and high schools, general public, sprayer manufacturers, national and state legislators, and environmental protection agency regulators. Changes/Problems:COVID-19 has significantly affected the work we had scheduled for 2020. We were not able to use equipment in our laboratoriesforfour months. We had planned on completing some experiments to determine droplet sizes and spray patterrns of nozzles used with the sprayers we used in the field the previous years. We were also planning on conducting efficacy trials in the field. We were not able to do that either. Fortunately this is a multi-year research study, and we have done efficacy test in previous years. Having one more year of data would have helped us when conducting statistical analyses of the data collected in previous years. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Numerous high school students, undergraduate students, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows at The Ohio State University, Oregon State University, University of Tennessee, Clemson University, Texas A&M University and USDA-ARS were trained in research methodologies in development of intelligent spray technologies through presentations, demonstrations and laboratory tours. They were also trained on the development of the techno-economic analysis models, collecting data from different sources and conducting the analyses. These students and post-doctoral fellows learned about the pesticide spraying technologies applicable to different nursery, orchard and vineyard types, pesticide application procedure and schedule, and resources required for spraying pesticides in the orchards to achieve sustainable crop production and environmental stewardship. They also gained an appreciation for the various sensors for advanced agricultural equipment as well as an understanding of conducting field research in collaboration with growers and other cooperators. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The research results on the intelligent spray technology reached target audiences through different outreach efforts including oral and poster presentations, national and international conferences, extension workshops and field days, on-farm demonstrations, pesticide applicator training and licensing programs, trade shows, meetings and consultations, peer reviewed journal articles, press articles in trade magazines and newsletters, websites, laboratory visits, and regional, national and international conferences. The outreach activities also included on-farm tests of intelligent spray prototype systems in nurseries, apple orchards, peach orchards, pecan orchards, vineyards, and small-fruit farms in Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, South Carolina, Washington, New York, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Iowa, California, Florida and Texas. In addition, results from economic analyses were disseminated to orchard and nursery owners and growers during field visits and personal communication. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
A universal intelligent spray control system was developed as a retrofit kit for existing air-assisted sprayers commonly used in specialty crop production. The control system integrated a high-speed laser scanning sensor into an automatic controller to manipulate variable-rate spray outputs of individual nozzles in real time on-the-go, regardless of the changes in travel speed to match plant presence, size, shape and foliage density. To study how well this system is performing under typical spraying conditions, it was retrofitted on different types of the air-assisted sprayers owned by growers and field tests were conducted. Spray deposition uniformity inside canopies, chemical usage and off-target losses were investigated for the plants at different growth stages in ornamental nurseries, apple orchards, peach orchards and vineyards. Comparative field biological tests were also conducted to evaluate insect and disease control for the sprayers with and without the intelligent-decision control capabilities in commercial ornamental nurseries, apple orchards, peach orchards, pecan orchards, vineyards, and small fruit production in Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas, California and Washington. Multi-year field tests demonstrated the intelligent spray system was reliable and could reduce pesticide use in a range between 30 and 90%, reduce airborne spray drift between 60 and 90%, and reduce spray loss to the ground between 40 and 80%, resulting in chemical savings in a range of $56 to $812 per acre annually. As a result, Smart Guided Systems LLC. commercialized the intelligent spray system and released it into the market in 2019. The commercial products have been used by growers in the U.S. and other countries with crops including citrus, nursery, pecan, blueberry, peach, almond, apple, and pear with pesticide usage reductions in the range between 30 to 85%. The commercial intelligent spray product received 2020 ASABE Davidson Prize, 2020 ASABE AE50 Award Winners, and 2020 World Ag Expo Top-10 New Product Winners. Growers now can still use their existing sprayers rather than relying on purchasing new intelligent sprayers for sustainable and environmental-friendly crop protection, and sprayer manufacturers do not need to redesign their sprayers to achieve intelligent spray benefits of significant chemical savings and environmental protection.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Zhu, H., Rosetta, R., Reding, M. E., Zondag, R. H., Ranger, C. M., Canas, L., Fulcher, A., Derksen, R. C., Ozkan, H. E., and Krause, C. R. Validation of laser-guided variable-rate sprayer for managing insects in ornamental nurseries. Transactions of the ASABE, 60(2): 337-345. 2017.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Shen, Y., Zhu, H., Liu, H., Chen, Y., and Ozkan, E. Development of a laser-guided embedded-computer-controlled air-assisted precision sprayer. Transactions of the ASABE, 60(6): 1827-1838. 2017.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Salcedo, R., Zhu, H., Zhang, Z., Wei, Z., Chen, L., Ozkan, E., and Falchieri, D. 2020. Foliar deposition and coverage on young apple trees with PWM-controlled spray systems. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 178: 105794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2020.105794.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Manandhar, A., Shah, A., Zhu, H., and Ozkan, E. 2017. Techno-economic analysis of implementing the intelligent pesticide sprayer for specialty crop production. ASABE Annual International Meeting, Spokane, WA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Zhu, H., Boldt, J., Fulcher, A., Gao, Y., Herms, D. A., Krause, C. R., Ling, P., Lockwood, D., Niu, G., Ozkan, E., Pscheidt, J., Rosetta, R., Schnabel, G., Shah, A., Zhao, L., and Zondag, R.H. 2017. Advancement of laser-guided intelligent pesticide spray control technology in specialty crop production. Abstract. ASHS. Hawaii.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
16. Manandhar, A., Shah, A., Zhu, H., and Ozkan, E. 2018. Techno-economic analysis of using a conventional sprayer retrofitted with intelligent control functions for pesticide application in nursery crops. Presentation at 2018 ASABE Annual International Meeting, Detroit, MI.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Manandhar, A., Zhu, H., Ozkan, E., and Shah, A. 2020. Techno-economic impacts of using a laser-guided variable-rate spraying system to retrofit conventional constant-rate sprayers. Precision Agriculture. 21: 11561171. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-020-09712-8.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Manandhar, A., Zhu, H., Ozkan, E. and Shah, A. 2018. Evaluating techno-economic impacts of using conventional sprayer retrofitted with intelligent control functions for pesticide application in apple orchards. Presented at: Plant Sciences Symposium at The Ohio State University 2018, April 6-7, Wooster, OH. and CFAES Annual Research Conference at The Ohio State University 2018, April 27, Wooster, OH. (Poster)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Zhu, H., Boldt, J., Fulcher, A., Gao, Y., Herms, D.A., Krause, C., Ling, P.,Lockwood, D., Niu, G., Ozkan, E., Pscheidt, J., Rosetta,R., Schnabel, G., Shah, A., Zhao, L., and Zondag, R. 2018. Laser-guided variable-rate pesticide spray technology for specialty crop Ppoduction. EuroAgEng Conference 2018. Page 176.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Ozkan, E., and Zhu, H. 2019. An update on the intelligent spraying system development for fruit and nursery crop applications. 15th Workshop on Spray Application and Precision Technology in Fruit Growing. SuproFruit 2019. NIAB EMR. United Kingdom. Pp. 35-37.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
You, K., Zhu, H., Guler, H., Zhang, Z., Chen, L., Yan, T., Ozkan, E., and Zhao, L. 2019. Evaluation of airborne spray drift and ground loss from laser-guided variable-rate spray applications. Presentation at 2019 ASABE Annual International Meeting, July 7-11, 2019, Boston, MA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Guler, H., Zhu, H., You, K., Zhang, Z., Chen, L.,Yan , L., and Ozkan, E. 2019. Spray performance comparisons between retrofitted intelligent sprayers and conventional constant-rate sprayers in vineyard applications. Presentation at 2019 ASABE Annual International Meeting, July 7-11, 2019, Boston, MA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Manandhar, A., Zhu, H., Ozkan, E. and Shah, A. 2020. Techno-economic impacts of laser-guided variable-rate pesticide application for maintaining health of nursery crops. Presented at: Plant Sciences Symposium at The Ohio State University 2020, April 6-7, Online. (Poster)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Salcedo, R., Zhu, H., Zhang, Z., Wei, Z., Chen, L., and Ozkan, E. 2020. Evaluation of PWM technologies for pesticide spray applications in a two-year old apple orchard. ASABE Paper No. 2000079. (American Society Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, MI 49085).
|
Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Growers, farm managers, and sprayer applicators (including Hispanic and African American growers and workers) of specialty crops (nursery, peach orchard, apple orchard, pecan orchard, citrus, grape, winery, blueberry, raspberry, cranberry, hazelnuts and greenhouse crops), extension specialists and educators, county Extension agents, viticulturists, researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, robotics and artificial intelligence enthusiasts, agricultural industry consultants, general public, sprayer manufacturers, chemical companies, national and state legislators, and environmental protection agency regulators. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Similar to previous years, professional development trainings and services in using the intelligent spray technology were provided to growers, farm managers, spray applicators and local Extension Educators in Ohio, Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, and South Carolina. The participants at these educational events gained first-hand experience in advancing conventional sprayers to the intelligent spray technology based on the sprayer types and functions. These presentations have helped us in our efforts to expedite the commercialization of the intelligent sprayer technology. Many of the presentations given as part of this project had pesticide recertification training credits available for participants. When discussing the intelligent spray systems, participants indirectly learned and better understood aspects of sprayer calibration and application in general. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Research results have been disseminated to communities of interest through presentations given in workshops, field demonstrations and trade shows in several locations. We had held several consultation meetings with growers, commodity trade associations, local county extension agents, extension specialists, farm managers and spray applicators. A number of articles appeared in trade magazines about the intelligent sprayer technology. Several presentations related to this project were made at national and international conferences organized by professional societies such as American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, and American Horticultural Society. Publications were published in scientific journals. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This is a multi-year project. We will repeat some of the experiments we had contacted during the last two reporting period to accumulate at least 3-years' worth of results that is needed for a sound statistical analysis. Some new sites, and new crops (hazelnuts, raspberries) will be added to the experiments. With these experiments we will conduct, as we had done in previous years, we will be comparing the sprayers with the ISS and the conventional sprayers which do not have the ISS. The parameters for comparisons will continue to be: spray deposition and coverage, spray volume consumption, pesticide cost savings, and biological efficacy.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
It was reported in last year's report that we had converted Six conventional high pressure sprayers owned and used by fruit and nursery crop producers with the universal spray control system we had developed. Conventional sprayers did not have the option of changing the application rate during spraying. Retrofitting the sprayers with "intelligent" spray systems (ISS) allowed the growers to spray pesticides at variable rates depending on the size, and shape of plant canopy, and stop spraying altogether when there are gaps between plants. We had conducted field experiments to evaluate the performance of the intelligent spray systems (laser-guided variable rate application) with that of conventional high-pressure sprayers spraying at constant rates. During this reporting period, 4 additional conventional sprayers were retrofitted with the ISS (two in Ohio, one in Texas, 1 in Oregon). We continued conducting additional field experiments in the same locations in Ohio, as well as some new locations in Tennessee, Oregon, South Carolina and Texas
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Ozkan, E., and Zhu, H. 2019. An update on the intelligent spraying system development for fruit and nursery crop applications. 15th Workshop on Spray Application and Precision Technology in Fruit Growing. SuproFruit 2019. NIAB EMR. United Kingdom. Pp. 35-37
|
Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Growers, farm managers and sprayer applicators (including Hispanic or Latino growers) of specialty crops (ornamental nursery, peach orchard, apple orchard, citrus, grape, winery, blueberry, raspberry, nuts and greenhouse crops), extension specialists and educators, researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, agricultural industry consultants, general public, sprayer manufacturers, chemical companies, national and state legislators, and environmental protection agency regulators. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The technology used to turn a conventional orchard and fruit sprayers into an "intelligent sprayer" had been shared with research personnel involved in conducting field experiments in Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, South Carolina and California. In addition, a number of undergraduate students, graduate students, technicians and post-doctoral fellows at Universities in States where the field experiments were conducted How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Research results have been disseminated to communities of interest through presentations given in workshops, field demonstrations and trade shows in several locations. We had held a number of consultation meetings with growers, commodity trade associations, local county extension agents, extension specialists, farm managers and spray applicators. A number of articles appeared in trade magazines about the intelligent sprayer technology. Several presentations related to this project were made at national and international conferences organized by professional societies such as American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, and American Horticultural Society. Several publications were published in scientific journals. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Field experiments we started during this reporting period will continue next year with 3-5 additional spray control systems as retrofits on growers' sprayers to be used in at least 10 different field experiments in California, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Texas. Crops in these locations include apples, peaches, grapes, blueberries, raspberries, pecans, and different species and varieties of ornamental nursery stocks. Computer models for predicting spray drift and economic benefits will be validated through field tests. In addition, automatic spray systems will be tested in greenhouses in Ohio.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During this reporting period, we have conducted field experiments to evaluate the performance of the 12 intelligent spray systems (laser-guided variable rate application of pesticides) variable-rate intelligent sprayers with that of conventional high pressure sprayers used by fruit and nursery crop producers. we had assembled in commercial specialty crop fields for performance evaluation. Six of these sprayers are owned by growers. We retrofitted these six sprayers with the universal spray control system we had developed. Major other products include: (1) seven different types and sizes of growers' existing sprayers were retrofitted with the universal intelligent spray system for field tests and demonstrations; (2) six concept-proven intelligent sprayer prototypes were built and delivered to several nurseries and orchards for field tests and demonstrations; and (3) a computer program of Universal Orchard Spray Drift Prediction for predicting spray drift from orchards was developed.
Publications
|
Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Growers, farm managers and sprayer applicators (including Hispanic or Latino growers) of specialty crops (ornamental nursery, peach orchard, apple orchard, citrus, grape, winery, blueberry, raspberry, nuts and greenhouse crops), extension specialists and educators, researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, agricultural industry consultants, general public, sprayer manufacturers, chemical companies, national and state legislators, and environmental protection agency regulators. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The technology used to turn a conventional orchard and fruit sprayers into an "intelligent sprayer" had been shared with research personnel involved in conducting field experiments in Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, South Carolina and California. In addition, a number of undergraduate students, graduate students, technicians and post-doctoral fellows at Universities in States where the field experiments were conducted How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Research results have been disseminated to communities of interest through presentations given in workshops, field demonstrations and trade shows in several locations. We had held a number of consultation meetings with growers, commodity trade associations, local county extension agents, extension specialists, farm managers and spray applicators. A number of articles appeared in trade magazines about the intelligent sprayer technology. Several presentations related to this project were made at national and international conferences organized by professional societies such as American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, and American Horticultural Society. Several publications were published in scientific journals. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Field experiments we started during this reporting period will continue next year with the addition of 5 additional spray control systems as retrofits on growers' sprayers to be used in 15 different field experiments in California (1), Ohio (6), Oregon (3), Tennessee (3), South Carolina (1), and Texas (1). Crops in these locations include apples, peaches, grapes, blueberries, raspberries, pecans, and different species and varieties of ornamental nursery stocks. Computer models for predicting spray drift and economic benefits will be validated through field tests. In addition, automatic spray systems will be tested in greenhouses in Ohio
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During this reporting period, we had assembled 12 intelligent spray systems in commercial specialty crop fields for performance evaluation. Six of these sprayers are owned by growers. We retrofitted these six sprayers with the universal spray control system we had developed. We have conducted field experiments to evaluate the performance of the variable-rate intelligent sprayers with that of conventional high pressure sprayers used by fruit and nursery crop producers.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Hong, S.W., Zhao, L., Zhu, H. CFD simulation of airflow inside tree canopies discharged from air-assisted sprayers. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 2017. (Online available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2017.07.011)
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Liu, H., Zhu, H. Evaluation of a laser scanning sensor on detection of complex shaped targets for variable-rate sprayer development. Transactions of the ASABE, 59(5): 1181-1192. 2016
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Zhu, H., Liu, H., Shen, Y., and Zondag, R. H. Spray deposition inside multiple-row nursery trees with a laser-guided sprayer. Journal of Environmental Horticulture, 35(1): 13-23. 2017.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Zhu, H., Rosetta, R., Reding, M. E., Zondag, R. H., Ranger, C. M., Canas, L.,Fulcher, A., Derksen, R. C., Ozkan, H. E., Krause, C. R. Validation of a Laser-Guided Variable Rate Sprayer for Managing Insects in Ornamental Nurseries. Transactions of the ASABE. Vol. 60(2): 337-345. 2017
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Fulcher, A., J. McHugh, R. Collier, H. Zhu, W. Yeary, W. Wright, S. Xiaocun, F. Collier, and D.W. Lockwood. Evaluating variable-rate, laser-guided sprayer performance and powdery mildew control in Cornus florida 'Cherokee Princess'. HortScience 52S. 2017
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Zhao, 2017. Reducing pesticide spray drift using a universal computational model. Ohios Country Journal, September 11, 2017. (Online available at http://ocj.com/2017/09/reducing-pesticide-spray-drift-using-a-universal-computational-model/)
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Zhu, H., Boldt, J., Fulcher, A., Gao, Y., Herms, D. A., Krause, C. R., Ling, P., Lockwood, D., Niu, G., Ozkan, E., Pscheidt, J., Rosetta, R., Schnabel, G., Shah, A., Zhao, L., Zondag, R. H. Advancement of Laser-guided Intelligent Pesticide Spray Control Technology in Specialty Crop Production. Abstract. ASHS. Hawaii. 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Hong, S.W., Zhao, L., Zhu, H., 2017. CFD simulations of fate and transport of pesticide droplets discharged from air-assisted sprayers in orchards. The ASABE Annual International Meeting, Spokane, Washington, July 16-19, 2017
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Hong, S.W., Zhao, L., Zhu, H., 2017. CFD simulations of fate and transport of pesticide droplets discharged from air-assisted sprayers in orchards. OSC (Ohio Supercomputer Center) Statewide Users Group Conference, Columbus, Ohio, April 6, 2017
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Manandhar, A., Shah, A., Zhu, H., Ozkan, E. Techno-economic analysis of implementing the intelligent pesticide sprayer for specialty crop production. 2017 ASABE Annual International Meeting, July 18, 2017, Spokane, WA. 2017
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Zhu, H., Li, Y., Shen, Y., Liu, H. Versatile Laser-guided Spray Control System to Implement Variable-rate Functions for Conventional Air-blast Sprayers. The ASABE Annual International Meeting, Spokane, Washington, July 16-19, 2017.
|