TY - JOUR AU - Giles, Durham K. AU - Klassen, Parry AU - Niederholzer, Franz J. A. AU - Downey, Daniel TI - “Smart” sprayer technology provides environmental and economic benefits in California orchards JF - California Agriculture JO - Calif Agr Y1 - 2011/04/01 VL - 65 IS - 2 SP - 85 EP - 89 PB - University of California Agriculture and Nature Resources SN - 0008-0845 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.3733/ca.v065n02p85 L3 - 10.3733/ca.v065n02p85 AB - Spray applications of pesticides to orchards are a common cultural practice; however, they present environmental concerns due to emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), runoff that can allow pesticides to enter waterways, and spray drift onto nontarget areas. Advanced sprayer technology can address these concerns and improve application efficiency by reducing the amount of spray that does not reach the target. Target-sensing sprayers were evaluated in multiseason experiments. They reduced pesticide application rates by 15% to 40% and nontarget orchard-floor deposition by 5% to 72%, providing significant environmental and economic benefits.