April 7, 2016
This is the first of a four-part series on sprayer technology. Don't miss other parts of the series:
7 products you shouldn't go without at spray time
3 biggest mistakes applicators make
Spray season will soon be upon you and with more products to apply, and increased concern about getting the right product on the acre - and nowhere else - nozzle selection is important. Mark Glady, region agronomist, Winfield Solutions, a Land O Lakes Company, shares his insight into the issue.
Using a spray table, and sprayer sensitive paper, Glady shares the pros and cons of different nozzle types. The demonstration offers insight into how newer-tech nozzles offer coverage with less fines.
Glady explains that not all crop protection products require the same level of coverage in order to be effective. And matching the nozzle to the job will ensure the right coverage for minimal drift.
In this video, Glady demonstrates the spray patterns for three different nozzle types - an extended flat fan nozzle, air induction nozzle and the AIXR nozzle. Glady notes that they never recommend having just one nozzle type at work on the farm, but the AIXR is a happy medium between flat fan and air induction. However, he recommends matching the nozzle to the crop protection product you are applying to get the best performance, regardless of the nozzle manufacturer.
The AIXR nozzle is a TeeJet product with an air induction extended range design. Other nozzle manufacturers offer their own version of this nozzle. And while Glady used TeeJet nozzles for his demonstration, he points out that the same rules hold true for all other nozzle manufacturer models.
With a rising variety of new products coming to market, and the potential for use of new formulations of 2,4-D and dicamba products coming to market for weed control, understanding how different nozzles work will be of growing importance. This video offers a quick refresher on spray nozzle selection.
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