Tips for spraying in the wind

Wind can delay timely spraying. If it’s too windy (more than 20 km/h), the sprayer will probably have to sit idle, but when wind is 10 to 20 km/h, use these tips to improve performance and reduce drift…

• Use low-drift nozzles.
• Increase water volumes to improve coverage with large droplets.
• Find a nozzle that can achieve a coarse spray at a broad range of pressures.
• Aim for 100% overlap nozzle to nozzle to provide equal coverage across the whole boom width.
• Keep the boom low.
• Travel slower to reduce the amount of fine droplets, and make it safer to drive with the boom lower. Use your pressure gauge as your speedometer.

See the Canola Encyclopedia for more details on these headings.

What about dead calm days? Days with no wind aren’t great either because spray droplets can hang in the air and travel farther than you might imagine. Inversion and drift risk factors.

What about spraying at night? That’s an option if nights are less windy than days. This article has tips.