A system for the variable rate application of pesticides is provides, comprising
a) a vehicle capable of traversing an agricultural production area; b) at least
one sensor for attachment to said vehicle for direct sensing plant and/or condition
data on said agricultural production area, said sensor being capable of transmitting
said directly sensed data to computing means; c) computing means for processing
the data output of said sensor; d) at least one tank mounted on or attached to
said vehicle carrying pesticidal formulations; e) pesticide delivery means mounted
on or attached to said vehicle capable of receiving delivery instructions from
said computing means and of delivering pesticides from said tank in compliance
with said instructions; characterized in that f) said computing means is capable
of reading and processing data from a computer-readable medium having stored thereon
a plurality of data, said plurality of data including data relating to the functional
relationship between the amounts of individual pesticides and the biological effects
achievable with said amounts on the plants or their environment, optionally under
consideration of the soil conditions and climatic conditions.
