Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a major disease of wheat and barley in several small grain production areas in the United States and, as such, the development and evaluation of aerial application technologies that enhance the efficacy of fungicides with aerial spray applications, is one of the research priorities of the United States Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative. This research was initiated to assess aerial spray technologies in an effort to increase spray deposits on wheat heads. The experiment was designed as a 2 x 3 factorial treatment arranged in a randomized complete block with three replications at each of three field locations. Multiple sub-samples of wheat heads and artificial samplers were collected and analyzed to assess and describe spray deposits from the specified treatments. Test results indicated that lower spray rates with larger droplet sizes tended to result in greater tracer deposits. The results from this study are expected to provide guidance for aerial fungicide applications for increased deposition.
