Nozzles tips to consider for 2011

Some key innovations have flown under the radar that are worth a close look, says Brian Storozynsky.

Posted: May 30, 2011

As farmers get their sprayer equipment ready to roll this season, a common question when it comes to nozzle tips is: What's new that is worth taking a look at?

Brian Storozynsky of AgTech Centre often hears from farmers who have used a particular nozzle the past several years and check in with him to see if there is something newer and better they should consider. He says this spring is a particularly good time to ask that question.

"Many nozzle tips have flown under the radar the past couple of years that have potential for Western Canadian producer's pesticide applications," says Storozynsky, project manager at the Lethbridge, Alta.-based AgTech Centre, part of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD).

"Some past venturi nozzles came into the market quickly without much information on spray droplet characteristics resulting in reduced weed control. Claims such as reducing applications rates and chemical rates had many producers questioning the accuracy of such statements. Many of these new nozzles were developed by fine tuning or expanding of older tip designs to produce better droplet density and narrow spray droplet spectrums for more specific spraying applications."

Three leading examples

Here's a snapshot of a few nozzles that slipped into the market in the Prairie provinces without much fanfare that Storozynsky says deserve consideration.

GreenLeaf Technologies TurboDrop Asymmetrical Dual Fan (TADF) nozzles. GreenLeaf Technologies TurboDrop Asymmetric Dual Fan nozzle system is designed to improve coverage on vertical and angular targets when using contact type herbicides. "Unlike their TurboDrop TwinFan (TDTF) nozzles with a symmetrical forward and rearward spraying angle of 30 degrees, their TurboDrop Dual Fan has a 50 degree rearward spray angle and a 10 degree forward spray angle," says Storozynsky. "This provides the spray angle orientation needed for front side and backside coverage of grassy type weeds."

Hypros/Spraymasters Guardian series. This series includes low drift air induced (LDA) nozzles and low drift extended range (LDX) nozzles, along with the Guardian Air Twin nozzle system and spraying systems. Guardian nozzle spray characteristics, sizes and descriptions can be seen in Hypro's, Spraymaster's and AGCO's nozzle and spray part catalogues and websites, says Storozynsky. "AgTech Centre's early test results show a very improved spray pattern and coverage with Hypro's Guardian series of nozzles," he says. "The LDA nozzles produced very uniform spray patterns not seen in over 20 years."

Coefficient of variation (CV), a term used to describe spray pattern uniformity across a sprayed swath, was well below five percent with the yellow tips applying 10 gallons per acre. Application rate ranged from 9.6 to 10.4 gallon per acre across the entire swath in laboratory tests. A CV below 25 percent is considered acceptable by some experts. "The droplet density was also very good in tall, vertically growing weeds and crops, as backside leaf coverage was more pronounced," says Storozynsky.

Spraying Systems series. This series of air induced and twin systems are other good options for producers, with detailed information available in the company catalogue and website. "Remember, it was Spraying Systems wide-angled Turbo TeeJet nozzles that made a unique integration between spray coverage and drift, which meant sprayers could be used over a larger speed range, utilizing the spray controller efficiency, to work more hours in a day and in more adverse weather conditions," says Storozynsky. "It was a work horse during the 1990's."

In the new nozzles, these wide angle spray attributes were kept and a venturi component was added to the popular Turbo TeeJet and Extended Range tips. "These two nozzle types provide a range of spray characteristic needed in today's larger and diverse farming operations that require spraying over long periods on a daily basis."

A good choice would be their air induction Turbo TwinJet and air induction extended range (AIXR) spray tips for the majority of post emergence applications. Storozynsky says it's important to note the Turbo Teeject induction tips produce extremely coarse spray droplets. "This limits their use to pre-emerge surface applied herbicides."