Smart Tech
Smart Tech in Fungicide Application
As fungicide applications become more common, one aspect of the marketplace that is rapidly changing is the use of technology. In particular, says Gail Stratman, Regional Technical Services Manager at FMC U.S., drone use is becoming more widespread.
“Drones are rapidly finding their place in the application process,” says Stratman. “Drones can more easily get to fields, areas of fields that are inaccessible or dangerous for other types of application systems. Growers are finding that drones and drone applicators are more easily accessible for spraying different fields or parts of fields than a larger piece of equipment such as an airplane.”
According to Darrin Holder, Market Development Agronomist Lead at WinField United, his company is also experimenting with using drones for fungicide applications more in 2026 than it ever has in the past.
“With drones specifically, we are testing how various adjuvants affect rotary atomizers and the overall application pattern with it,” says Holder. “We have been working with these drones in the wind tunnel to better understand droplet size and dispersion after the droplet leaves the nozzles.”
Despite this renewed enthusiasm for Smart Tech, FMC’s Stratman cautions that using drones for fungicide applications requires more than just unpacking the unit, filling it, and beginning to fly it across a crop field.
“The principles of sound crop protection application are still relevant to drone applications,” he says. “Spray volume, droplet size, and droplet deposition need to be factored in when setting up drones for doing applications. They don’t come out of the box ready to be perfect application tools. So, applicators need to work with their drones to understand how to get the best performance from them.
“The high level of disease pressure we had in 2025 really showed that, in some cases, drone passes were too wide, and overlap was not adequate, leading to uneven and inadequate performance,” Stratman concludes. “The greatest product in the world can’t make up for poor application.”
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