AbstractSpray deposit assessments were made on the leaf surfaces in the top, middle and base zones of intensively grown dessert apple trees sprayed by a conventional high volume automatic mast method applying 2250 litres/ha, an experimental low and ulfralow volume tractor mist blower, applying 225 litres/ha at normal dilution, 45 litres/ha at five times normal concentration or 22.5 litres/ha at ten times normal concentration, and a modified proprietary hand‐directed fan‐disc sprayer applying 225 or 22.5 litres/ha. Fluorescent tracer assessments showed that the high volume method gave heavy cover on upper and lower surfaces of the leaves in all zones, the tractor mist method gave lighter but uniform cover and the fan‐disc sprayer gave sparse cover on the upper surfaces at the top and on the lower surfaces at the base zone. The hand‐directed low and ultralow volume methods, applying one‐tenth of the amounts of copper fungicide/ha, gave deposit levels 5–30 % of those of the high volume method and the tractor mist applications gave 0.8–5.2%. The corresponding captan deposits from 5–6 applications were 12–50% and 10–20%: residual deposits from the ultralow volume applications of the concentrated captan were greater than the low volume applications of the same quantities in dilute form. In general, the order of pest and disease control obtained by the three methods was high volume automatic, fan‐disc and experimental mist, and this was related to the order of deposit levels: the order of control by the three volume rates was 2250, 225 and 22.5 litres/ha, and this could be related to the degree of spray cover.