Rosenberg: Nozzle Selection Is Critical.

Jul 14, 2014

Mark Rosenberg
Agronomy - Weeds Field Specialist

What nozzle is right for you? As the spray season moves forward it’s important to continue to assess your sprayer and make sure you’re getting the best performance with the least amount of spray drift potential.

Nozzle selection is an important part of that assessment. Consider your priorities before making nozzle choices. Nozzles are relatively inexpensive but they can be the most important sprayer component you buy. When should you be concerned about spray drift? The following situations may require using low drift nozzles.

One setting may be when you are spraying highly active or nonselective herbicides. Another reason to consider a low-drift nozzle is when treating herbicide-resistant crops such as glysophate resistant soybeans or corn. You may want to use these nozzles when the spraying is done near a sensitive area such as shelterbelts, farmsteads, gardens and other settings.

They are also a good choice if you are trying to reduce environmental contamination and avoid future drift problems. Low-drift nozzles are designed to produce larger, more consistently sized spray droplets with fewer driftable fines. The bigger droplets are produced in a pressure-reducing chamber inside the nozzle and, with several nozzles, by incorporating air into the sprayer droplets. These nozzles are excellent at reducing, but not eliminating all drift.

Whatever your nozzle choice is, make sure you read and use all pesticides according to their label. If the product prohibits applications above a specific wind velocity, you are breaking the law and may be held liable for any damages caused by the misuse. Be aware that drift-reducing nozzles only reduce drift, not eliminate it.

Source : SDSU

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Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.