Speciality Sprayers – Page 31

Evaluating an Anti-Drift Adjuvant in an Airblast Sprayer

Posted on October 27, 2016 (August 19, 2021) by Jason Deveau (Spray Guy)

Most pesticides are either pre-formulated with the required adjuvants, or the label specifies their addition. However, compelling claims by manufacturers create interest in tank mixing additional adjuvants to improve some aspect of pesticide performance. In a previous article we advised caution when using adjuvants in airblast sprayers (see here). Specifically, we stated that unless an adjuvant has been tested with airblast equipment, […]

How to Assess Spray Coverage in Vegetable Crops

Posted on October 5, 2016 (February 18, 2025) by Jason Deveau (Spray Guy)

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”. […]

Continuous Rinsing should be considered in North America

Posted on October 2, 2016 (October 9, 2024) by Jason Deveau (Spray Guy)

Overview This article expands on an earlier article: here. Before we dive into the details, let’s start with a quick video summary filmed by Real Agriculture at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in September, 2016. When the pressure drops and the nozzles begin to sputter, the sprayer is considered empty. However, it can still retain a lot […]

Thrips Control in Cut Flowers – A Good Try

Posted on September 22, 2016 (April 25, 2022) by Jason Deveau (Spray Guy)

In August, 2016, we were contacted by a cut-flower grower specializing in Dahlias. There are photos in this article, but they don’t do justice to this beautiful perennial flower. Imagine a chrysanthemum crossed with a zinnia: lots of tight petals in the bloom. Unfortunately, they’re a perfect place for insects to hide. Those that buy […]

Spraying in Vegetable Greenhouses

Posted on August 24, 2016 (August 19, 2021) by Jason Deveau (Spray Guy)

Back in 2011 we toured a few vegetable greenhouses in Southern Ontario. I wanted to learn more about how greenhouses used hydraulic sprayers (i.e. not misting or fogging systems) to apply pesticides to tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. It was an eye-opening experience for me, because like every commodity group I’ve encountered, they had their own unique […]