Weed Scientist
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
Saskatoon, SK
You Should be Spraying in the Wind - Where Drift Goes and How to Control it
Tuesday, January 24 4:00pm - 5:00pm Room 2
Wednesday, January 25 11:00am-12:00pm Room 2
Bio
Tom Wolf grew up on a grain farm in southern Manitoba and maintains strong ties to the farming community. As a research scientist with Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada in Saskatoon, Tom Wolf studies sprayer technology, focusing on spray drift, pesticide efficacy, and sprayer tank cleanout. He supervises undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Saskatchewan where he is adjunct professor in the Department of Civil and Geological Engineering.
Session Summary
Spray drift remains one of the most important considerations in a spraying decision. Applicators tend to choose calm conditions to minimize drift. These commonly occur later in the evening, overnight, or in the early morning. Spraying at night is becoming easier with Auto-Steer technology. But research shows that spraying during those times can increase the risk of drift damage due to poor dispersion of the spray cloud, and its propensity to travel longer distances in unpredictable directions and at dangerously high concentrations. The main reason is the formation of a stable atmosphere, also known as a temperature inversion, which occurs on most nights after sunset.
A better approach is to spray during sunny daytime conditions, with some, but not excessive winds from a known direction, using a low-drift nozzle at a low boom height. These conditions minimize the production of fine droplets, reduce their departure from the treated swath, and ensure their rapid dissipation if they do leave.
New drift data from 2011 will be presented, showing the impact of spray quality, boom height and travel speed on drift. An on-line tool, the “Buffer Zone Calculator” developed by the PMRA to reduce buffer zones, will also be shown.
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