This article is based on a presentation by Dr. Melanie Filotas, who delivered it as part of the 2019 agriculture summer student orientation day. Most crops are sprayed with organic or synthetic pesticides at some point during the growing season. Use caution before entering any area where crops are grown (e.g. corn field, nursery, greenhouse, orchard […]
There are many advantages to using rate controllers, but their primary role is to maintain a constant application rate. All sprayers change speed on hills, at row-ends, or in response to surface conditions. Since flow from an uncontrolled sprayer is constant, the application rate varies significantly (up to 40% in hilly conditions). Rate controllers compensate […]
This short article is a reminder for sprayer operators to respect the possibility of tipping a sprayer. Every spring I catch wind of someone tipping over. When I can ask the operator questions I start with “Is everyone alright?” and “Was the sprayer full?“. Hopefully the answers are “Yes” and No“, but not always. The […]
Herbicide resistance has been called the number one threat to conventional herbicide-based weed management strategies. Since the 1970s, the number of cases of herbicide resistant weeds has shown a linear increase both globally (currently at about 500 documented unique weed species x mode of action cases) and within Canada (at about 70 such cases), according […]
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In April 2014, NDSU extension published an excellent factsheet explaining what thermal inversions are, how to detect them and how they affect pesticide spray drift. That factsheet inspired this article. The Atmosphere The Earth is surrounded by a layer of air called the atmosphere. Think of it as a sheet of liquid percolating and flowing […]