International Advances in Pesticide Application : at the School of Agriculture, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain, on 13-15 January 2016

This international event marked the 14th occasion of this biennial conference and provided an opportunity to discuss pesticide (and bio-pesticide) application issues in an informal setting with platform and poster presentations. Key workers from research institutes, industry and regulatory authorities provided a unique mix of biological and engineering sciences. Many governments of late have realised the importance of agricultural technologies with renewed emphasis on funding strategies aimed at developing new ideas and bringing developments to market. All this, in an effort to provide sustained development of their agricultural industry and food security while globally offering sustenance for an ever growing population. While much of these efforts gravitate towards the informatics and precision control technologies we should not forget the expanse that is crop protection and application technology’s part. The adoption of the holistic approaches of Integrated Pest Management offer growers’ avenues for control as the registration pressure on traditional chemistry continues to erode the farmers’ armoury. The diversion of attention towards the development of bio-pesticides by many major companies reinforces this shift in attitude and expectations, but may also encourage accepted application methods to be re-examined. While the use of larger more sophisticated machines in the application of pesticides and bio pesticides offer opportunities in maximising production on an industrial scale it must be remembered that assistance on a small scale can also offer considerable benefits. The papers presented here contribute to the wealth of knowledge needed to support a safe, sustainable and efficient industry.