Pesticide Application Using Knapsack Sprayers

Virender Kumar and R. K. Malik

virender.kumar@cgiar.org

Current Application Method

Single nozzle boom Cut or cone type nozzle Swinging of boom No safety precautions

Strips of under-application and lack of control

Applications made with a single nozzle result in uneven coverage

Why accurate application is needed

To avoid crop injury To maximize herbicide efficacy

Efficacy of the product

Product : Biological results

50%
Intrinsic effect

50%
Timing of application
Set up of equipment, calibration.

Nozzles

Key components of accurate spray applications

1. 2. Nozzles Multiple nozzle booms Height of boom Pressure regulation Sprayer calibration

3.

4.

5.

1. Nozzles

Nozzle Assembly

nozzle body- seats strainer and nozzle strainer- filters particles that can clog the nozzle spray tip- regulates spray flow and pattern nozzle cap- holds nozzle in place

Characteristics of different spray tips

Hollow Cone

Flat Fan

Flood (cut) tip

not for herbicides produce a fine spray that is concentrate on the outside edge of the spray pattern suited for insecticides and fungicides

tapered pattern provides uniform application when overlapped with the same nozzle type Best choice for herbicide applications made with multiple nozzle booms

Pattern tends to be heavy toward edges coarse spray pattern with large droplets wide spray swath at low pressure Less drift

Knapsack Sprayers and nozzle choice

Product type
Herbicide

Nozzle choice
Flat fan: Pre & post-emergence or Flood (cut): only pre-emergence Flat Fan nozzle or Hollow cone nozzle Hollow cone nozzle or Flat Fan nozzle

Fungicide

Insecticide

flood (cut) tip

flat fan tip

More evenly distributed droplets with flat fan tips result in greater control with same herbicides.

2. Multiple nozzle boom

Booms more efficient than nozzle swinging

Much more uniform coverage is obtained from using a boom sprayer than a single nozzle lance with a swinging movement

A Syngenta study in Vietnam showed that a swinging nozzle put 64% of the application volume on the target compared with 98% from a boom sprayer

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