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TECHNICAL SESSION: Integrated Management of Plant Diseases

Assessing and optimizing sprayer technologies in commercial eastern Washington state wine grape vineyards
Margaret McCoy - Washington State University. Lav Khot- Washington State University, Michelle Moyer- Washington State University, Gwen Hoheisel- Washington State University

In-season vineyard pest management relies on proper timing, selection, and application of products. Pertinent research on this topic often focuses on the influence of regional environment or product timing and efficacy. However, the influence of local environmental conditions on performance of application technologies, especially related to deposition and drift, is not fully vetted. Three commercially-available sprayers were optimized and assessed in Washington state in the 2016 and 2017 growing seasons. Spray deposition and drift data were collected in commercial Vitis vinifera vineyards at two growth stages, EL 23 (50% bloom) and 25-30 days later at EL 31 (pea-sized berries) using a fluorescent tracer. Deposition was collected from 5 canopy zones, and drift was collected from the vineyard floor in the first 3 downwind rows from the sprayer and aerially in 0.3 m increments above the canopy in the first 3 downwind rows from the sprayer. All sprayers showed consistent within canopy deposition; the canopy contained between 80.0-98.5% of the total deposition collected. Aerial drift was generally <4% of total deposition collected. Floor drift ranged between 1.5-16.0% of total deposition collected. In both drift cases, most of the deposition were in the row closest to the sprayer, indicating relatively low longer-distance drift with modern spray technologies. Ultimately, this information can be used to optimize sprayer selection for different vineyard sites.