6 - Dust off your trigonometry and bring a compass

Abstract: It is critical to periodically evaluate the performance of both adulticide products applied by ultra-low volume space sprays and wide-area larvicide sprays. Both these application types rely on wind currents to carry the applications across the swath width. When performing field trials, data collection units such as sentinel cages, droplet impingers, bioassay cups, and droplet deposition cards are positioned at set intervals downwind of the spray path. However, when the winds shift drastically right before or during an application a trial can quickly degrade into chaos. After a bit of scrambling, we have adopted a different approach for setting up transect trials that more easily accommodate shifting in winds. It just takes a bit of angle math, a site map, and a way to measure wind direction (yes, you may need a compass). Get ready to use some math that you never thought you would use outside of an algebra 2 class. Don’t worry, it’s super easy!