Pesticide performance

Pesticide coverage is never complete, so treated plants represent a heterogeneous food patch with islands of pesticide droplets. Fertilizer and soil conditions are never uniformly distributed within fields, so crop plants vary in growth and biochemical composition.

​

Performance of pesticide applications depends on a range of factors, including : 1) the toxicity of the active ingredient, 2) the dosage applied, and 3) spray coverage. Toxicity and dosage are often studied to determine a lethal dosage; much less attention is given to the role of spray coverage. See specific webpage about "Smart Spray" to learn about our research into spray coverage and how it can be quantified with a freely available phone app. 

Behavioral resistance may possibly develop in response to incomplete pesticide spray coverage, as target pests are given a “choice” between treated and untreated surfaces. If the target pest is able to discriminate treated from untreated surfaces and eventually avoid treated surfaces, the pest will be less exposed to the insecticide. Consequently, the ability to avoid treated surfaces become a strong selection pressure, which can lead to development of behavioral-based resistance.