Should Backpack Sprayers be Used to Test Airblast Products? – Part 2

In Part One of this article, we showed that approximately 40% of minor use label expansions and registrant submissions rely on data from hand booms and guns. We also showed that a hydraulic backpack or knapsack will not give the same coverage as an airblast sprayer, and we concluded by suggesting that small plot researchers use […]

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Should Backpack Sprayers be Used to Test Airblast Products? – Part 1

Peer-reviewed journal publications claim there is a significant difference in spray coverage and deposition patterns when an agrichemical product is applied using an airblast sprayer versus a hydraulic hand boom. An airblast sprayer creates Fine droplets that shear in entraining air and are carried into a plant canopy. Properly calibrated, the air opens the canopy […]

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Canopy Management for Improved Airblast Coverage

Managing the canopy of any perennial crop (e.g. pruning, hedging, leaf stripping, etc.) is an important consideration. The benefits are manifold: It affects the health of the plant, the quantity and the quality of the yield. It allows light and air to circulate and it keeps the crop manageable. From the perspective of an airblast […]

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How to evaluate airblast coverage

Note: While there’s nothing wrong with this article, a more recent article on this subject can be found here. It’s nearing the end of a long morning of spraying and you just want to get it done.As the tank empties and you watch the last of the spray cloud waft through the row, you’re thinking […]

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How to Assess Spray Coverage in Vegetable Crops

Sprayer operators recognize the importance of matching their sprayer settings to the crop to optimize efficacy. For example, spraying a protective fungicide in field tomato should require a different approach from spraying a locally systemic insecticide in staked peppers. Knowing this, many operators make ad hoc changes and then wait to “see if it worked”. […]

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