first-class pictures, He takes a rather jaun- 
diced view of the usual pictures in lawn weed- 
control bulletins, since the home gardener 
must be able to identify them before heis able 
to ask for the proper herbicide, Having deter- 
mined the best pesticide or herbicide, he is 
then confronted with the alternatives of equip- 
ment, all of which are rather inadequate, 
It is extremely difficult for the home gardener 
to put on the recommended amount of in- 
secticide when he has no ready way or means 
of determining how much he is applying. In 
some cases, Such as the application of pesti- 
cides and fertilizers to the lawn, it is ex- 
tremely difficult to know where the previous 
row of application was made. Suggested rem- 
edies for these problems have included 
fluorescent additives that will glow or bright 
colors that will stain temporarily, 
The problem of markers is not peculiar to 
the home gardner, The aerial applicator who is 
applying pesticides to commercial fields of 
crops or to forests is confronted with an 
even more difficult problem, since he must be 
able to orient himself rapidly at high speeds of 
flight. 
A Look Ahead 
One who attempts to predict the direction 
for future research, engineering or otherwise, 
must understand that his guesses will be 
somewhat uncertain, particularly if he at- 
tempts to predict very far ahead, The rapid 
rate of progress in biological controls within 
the last few years and the fundamental infor- 
mation being gained with respect to insect and 
plant-disease characteristics will most cer- 
tainly result in engineering tasks requiring a 
high degree of originality and imagination, 
Hardly any of us remember when hand ap- 
plication of pesticides was the practice in the 
United States. However, in foreign countries 
probably more acres of crops are treated 
with hand equipment than with power equip- 
ment (19), It has been reported that insects in 
Mexico and Peru often are controlled by 
applying dusts or granulars by hand, As im- 
proved methods of control are developed, these 
areas will change their applicationtechniques, 
For example, it was reported (19) that no 
pesticide was used in Ghana on cocoa until, 
less than a decade ago, an enterprising pesti- 
212 
cide supplier entered the market by having a 
team of technicians show the Government how 
to spray cocoa and indicate the advantages 
associated with pest control, The result was a 
$4-million sale of pesticides, Also, Ghana 
imported 60,000 motor-driven knapsack spray- 
ers in 1 year, and the order for 1964 was 
25,000, 
EXAMPLES OF APPLIED ENGI- 
NEERING RESEARCH 
ACCOMPLISHMENTS 
The following items, although only examples, 
illustrate some of the past accomplishments 
of engineers, including agricultural engineers, 
in pest-control equipment, 
Equipment has been developed for mist- 
concentrate spraying, Extensive research has 
shown that heavier deposits of toxicants can 
be placed on fruit and foliage with this method 
than with dilute-type sprays, Also, less total 
toxicant is normally required, 
A versatile sprayer-duster, recently de- 
veloped, holds promise for use on several 
low-growing row crops and has been used 
successfully against aphids on potatoes in 
Oregon and Washington, With booms that trail 
on the ground, the unit applies the pesticide 
to both the top and the bottom of the plant and 
permits farmers to apply wetor dry chemicals 
as needed, 
Research has been done on animal-actuated 
units for pesticide application on cattle, They 
apply spray uniformly and distinctly reduce 
pesticide residues, as well as save spray 
material and labor, 
For cotton, experimental equipment has been 
developed for picking up and destroying fallen, 
punctured squares to aid in the control of 
early-season buildup of the boll weevil. Pre- 
liminary results indicate that equipment has 
distinct possibilities as part of an overall 
control program for the boll weevil. 
Basic research is being devoted to deter- 
mining the particular wavelength of light to 
which insects respond, As a result, electric- 
light Survey traps are now probably the most 
effective way of determining insect infestation 
buildup, which, in turn, dictates the need for 
initiating other control methods, Insomecases, 
