Radar-based Spray Drift Detection and Quantification System

This project will result in a product that will allow pesticide applicators a means to monitor thequality of their spray applications real time to assure they are not causing levels of drift that mightadversely impact their surroundings. Private and professional applicators using this product willreduce both legal and environmental risks and provide a higher quality of service to their clients.This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will explore a well-understood remotesensing phenomena in a totally new innovative way to help agricultural pesticide applicators "see"pesticide spray drift in real time allowing them to mitigate it before sufficient amounts of driftoccur to cause widespread damage. Laboratory measurements of simulated spray drift clouds willbe made and compared using the remote sensing technology as well as assessments of thetechnology's ability to reliably assess the natural conditions encountered in field use. This willprove the suitability of the technology for the ultimate product that we will develop from it.This project is critical to bringing the product to commercialization as it will solidify the validity ofthe core innovation and affirm that it will have the potential to work in field environments.Reducing or even possibly eliminating spray drift damage by identifyingand stopping it as isoccurs would improve agricultural sustainability in many ways: It would reduce multiple levels ofrisk: risk of economic loss of product that was paid for applied and yet gave no crop benefitreduce risk of chemical trespass and subsequent legal liability reduced environmental risk ofpremature resistance developing due to sub-lethal exposures reduced human health risk due to off- site movements. Further yields on over 2.5 million acres a year of currently drift damaged cropswould increase. Sustainability would be increased in nearly every way with regards to chemicalpesticide application. Trust between the public and the agricultural pesticide application communitywould improve. The market for this product in the United States alone will reach over $200 millionin aggr This e file ga M te; . US T be converted to PDF prior to attachment in the electronic application package.