Hort articles about spray drift and mitigation.
Sung to the tune of “If I had a Rocket Launcher” by Bruce Cockburn Here comes the John Deere sprayer — second time today; All the insects scatter and hope it goes away; How many larvae murdered only Dow can say; If I had a low drift nozzle… I’d make somebody spray. I don’t believe […]
We’ve identified and discussed shortcomings in the content and design of today’s pesticide labels in an earlier article. From the perspective of the spray applicator, the information needed most often can be difficult to locate, anachronistic, contradictory, subjective or even missing from the label altogether. To truly encourage an applicator to read and follow the label we need a consistent, concise and […]
In 2014 one of our OMAFRA summer students designed a short-and-gritty demonstration using a backpack sprayer, a variable-speed fan and some water-sensitive paper positioned downwind at 1.5 metre intervals. The intent was to illustrate how sprayer operators could reduce the potential for off-target drift by recognizing and accounting for three factors: Apparent wind speed (i.e. […]
Read More… from Three manageable factors that affect spray drift
Choosing the right time to spray can be tricky. Our gut tells us that spraying when it’s windy is wrong. The experts tell us that spraying when it’s calm is wrong. So when can you actually spray? I’ve always advised my clients to spray in some wind, because it has a few advantages. The main […]
The decision on application method for herbicides boils down to two main factors: (a) target type and (b) mode of action. In general, It’s easier for sprays to stick to broadleaf plants on account of their comparatively larger leaf size and better wettability compared to grassy plants. There are exceptions, of course – at the […]