1WinField United, River Falls, USA
ORCiD: 0000-0002-1540-8928
Keywords: Product efficacy, adjuvant, pesticide, NDVI,
multispectral imaging, phenotyping
High throughput phenotyping has wide applications to evaluate genetic
traits, plant growth and development in different biotic and abiotic
stress environments, as well as under different agriculture management
strategies. Additionally, understanding product efficacy and identifying
the mode of action prior to field testing would improve product pipeline
development for agriculture manufacturers and distributors. WinField
United is using multispectral imaging in different stress conditions
within a controlled environment setting to evaluate product
effectiveness. We have evaluated pesticide product efficacy in the
presence and absence of adjuvants. Adjuvants are materials added to a
pesticide to enhance performance by improving absorption, spreading,
sticking, and penetration properties of the pesticide’s active
ingredient(s). We have measured a statistically significant increase in
pesticide efficacy with the addition of an adjuvant in multiple,
independent case studies showing the increased plant health benefit. In
one study, we observed a 31% decrease in diseased oat plant tissue
[when defined as pixels with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
(NDVI) value <0.3] when an adjuvant was added to a
commercial fungicide compared to the untreated control and a 23%
improvement when compared to the fungicide alone. Multispectral imaging
has also allowed us to build interactive, 3-D models that demonstrate
product coverage and penetration. Combining quantitative measurements
with interactive, illustrative models, we can more effectively
communicate product efficacy results to retail owners and growers.
Future directions include evaluating biological product efficacy in
which more nuanced plant responses are observed in biotic and abiotic
stress environments.