Nozzle selection: more important than you think

May 31, 2006

Can one sprayer nozzle meet all of the competing demands that turf management places on it? This is the topic covered in our May 22, 2006 presentations at the California GCSA annual meeting in Temecula, CA. Topics covered included the role of nozzles in product efficacy, drift reduction, applications volumes, and the need to water in (or not).

“The great sprayer nozzle debate of 2006, Part 1” (230KB)

“The great sprayer nozzle debate of 2006, Part 2” (563KB)

Some bottom line conclusions:

• The nozzles that do the best job of enhancing product efficacy while at the same time reducing drift potential are flat fan and air induction nozzles. This is especially true for contact/foliar fungicides and insecticides and post-emerge herbicides
• The worst product efficacy is seen with flood style nozzles. Unless you are making fertilizer applications, flood nozzles should be avoided. They can reduce pesticide efficacy significantly!
• For application of contact/foliar products, application volumes of 1 ga to 2 ga/1000 sq ft (44 - 88 ga/acre) are optimal. For application of systemic products, application volumes of 2 ga/1000 sq ft (88 ga/acre) are optimal
• Contact products should not be watered in after application. Systemic products should be watered in, but only light (1/10”) levels are required. In most cases, it is possible to wait until the evening irrigation cycle to water products in.