Drift management must include equipment management. Prior to the application season, inspect the application equipment and repair defective parts. Check to see that booms are straight, braces and springs are intact, shields are in place, hoses are in good shape and not rubbing over metal edges, fittings are not cracked, and clamps are tight. Recheck […]
Nozzles
Understanding Droplet Size
During application, the pesticide spray mixture is broken into spray particles or droplets of various sizes. Managing the size of spray droplets is critical in managing spray drift. Diameter and Weight Droplet sizes are measured in microns. A micron is 1/1000 of a millimeter or about 1/25,000 of an inch. For perspective, human hair is about 100 […]
Pesticide Drift
Pesticide drift occurs whenever pesticide leaves the intended target site through the air during or soon after application. Pesticide drift may cause injury to farmworkers and other people, particularly children, adjacent crops or other non-target plants, livestock, sensitive areas, fish, and wildlife. Even if visible injury does not occur, illegal residues may be present in […]