Pesticide Drift and Communication

Staged photo of a Yasi spraying water. Source unknown.

When it comes to information about mitigating pesticide drift, it’s plentiful and easily accessed. I have an archive of >30 articles written by Ontario Ministry of Agriculture staff spanning 1999 to present day. Many are on this website. In fact, there’s so much good information out there (see BeDriftAware) it feels like there’s nothing left […]

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What’s with dew? – Tips with Tom #9

Tips with Tom - Title

When warm air is cooled, it loses some of its moisture-holding capabilities. This change often occurs at night, when plants (and other objects) cool. Once the temperature of the surface of the leaves, for example, drops below the dewpoint, it causes water to condense, forming the shiny dew that causes so many to question early […]

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Airblast Nozzles – Nozzle Bodies

A typical brass roll-over style dual nozzle body with Cap and optional check valve.

Excepting air shear and centrifugal style nozzles, most airblast sprayers employ nozzle bodies designed to except hydraulic nozzles distributed evenly along the booms. Nozzle caps compress the nozzle against the body to force the spray mix through the nozzle orifice. Nozzle bodies are not all created equal. Double Outlet Roll-Over Nozzle Bodies Double outlet roll-over […]

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Continuous rinsing for airblast sprayers

Why Rinse? Airblast sprayers are not rinsed as frequently or as diligently as field sprayers. This is primarily because they are not used to spray herbicides, so residue carry-over doesn’t incur an immediately obvious penalty. The typical operator rinses prior to long-term storage or when cross contamination might cause some form of antagonism (e.g. dormant […]

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Air Orientation for Wrap-Around Sprayers

One of the pleasures of working in agricultural extension is when you’re able to help a grower solve a problem. This was one of those happy occasions. An orchardist purchased a Lipco multi-row recycling sprayer and wanted help evaluating their spray coverage. We worked in 3.7 m (12 foot), mature, high-density Royal Gala trees. The […]

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