Aerial Electrostatic Cotton Defoliation

Multiple treatments of cotton defoliants are typically applied to completely remove the leaves from cotton plants prior to harvest. Electrostatic charging of aerial sprays has been found to increase deposition on cotton leaves compared to uncharged or conventional methods. The objective of this study was to determine if increased deposition of defoliants by an electrostatic aerial spray system resulted in increased efficacy so that multiple applications of defoliants could be avoided. Three aerial application methods, electrostatic charging, off and on and rotary atomizer nozzles, were evaluated on a commercial irrigated cotton field. The efficacy of the aerial application methods was assessed using multispectral aerial imagery and visual scoring of cotton leaf defoliation.