Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Comparison of Drift Potential for Venturi, Extended Range, and Turbo Flat-fan Nozzles Robert Wolf Biological and Agricultural Engineering Dept. Cathy Minihan Department of Agronomy

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Nozzle is still an important part of the application process! l Determines the application rate l Determines the uniformity l Determines the coverage l Determines the drift potential

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Will determine coverage: l Need knowledge of the product being used. –Systemic –Contact l What is the target? –Soil –Grass –Broadleaf (smooth, hairy, waxy) –Leaf orientation – time of day

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Will affect drift: l Movement of spray particles off-target. l Creating smaller spray drops will result in increased drift. l Is it Coverage vs Drift? l What is the answer? $64,000 Question?

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Efficacy and Drift Potential is Influenced by: l Size of the Spray Droplets - Volume Median Diameter (VMD) l Droplet Spectrum (Range - big to small) l Size of the Spray Droplets - Volume Median Diameter (VMD) l Droplet Spectrum (Range - big to small) % Volume or Number of droplets less than 200 microns in size

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department l Nozzles designed to reduce drift l Improved drop size control l Emphasis on ‘Spray Quality’ Nozzle Technology Today?

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Extended Range Flat-fan: l Tapered edge pattern l 80 and 110 degree fan l Requires overlap - 50 to 60% l psi range 110° 80°

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Turbo Flat-fan l Turbulence chamber as in the Turbo Flood l Tapered edge, wide angle flat pattern l Designed to work in flat-fan nozzle holder l Uniform spray distribution, 50-60% overlap l Wide pressure range, 15 – 90 psi l Large, drift resistant droplets l Plastic with superior wear characteristics XR TT

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Air/Induction – Venturi Nozzle: l Greenleaf – TurboDrop l Air intake venturi section l Mixing Chamber - air and spray solution blended l Pattern tip forms large air- bubble drops l Required Exit tip flow 2X venturi orifice l Better Penetration? l Reduced run-off? l Improved coverage? l Adequate efficacy? l Reduced drift?

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department XR Flat-fan and Turbo Flat-fan compared to Venturi Style Nozzle 5.0 MPH wind at 40 psi XR vs TurboDropTurbo Flat vs Turbo Drop

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department 1/2 of spray volume = larger droplets VMD 1/2 of spray volume = smaller droplets

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Objective of this study: l Field measure the spray droplet characteristics to evaluate the drift potential of a venturi flat-fan nozzle compared to extended range and turbo flat-fan nozzles.

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Materials and Methods: Experiments:Exp. 1 and 2 Early and Late Postemergence Grass Exp. 3 and 4 Early and Late Postemergence Broadleaves Location:Manhattan, KS Exp. Design:2 x 3 x 3 factorial with 4 reps Plot Size:3 x 9 m with 1.5 m buffer CropOats ‘Don’(Exp. 1 and 2) WeedsVelvetleaf, pigweed, and morning glory (Exp. 3 and 4) Visual Ratings:1, 2, and 4 weeks after treatment Herbicides (2): Paraquat, 0.14 kg/ha Glyphosate, 0.23 kg/ha Application Conditions: Exp. 1Exp. 2Exp. 3Exp. 4 Date: April 19, 2000May 5, 2000Aug. 18, 2000Sept. 1, 2000 Oat/weed Size: 15 cm51 cm10 cm21 cm Temperature:20 C25 C21 C24C R. H.:50%56%75%71% Wind: W-NW 8-10 km/hSE 5-8 km/hNE km/hN-E 3-10 km/h

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Materials and Methods cont.: Spray Tips (3):Extended Range Flat-fan (XR) Turbo Flat-fan (TT) Air Induction Flat-fan (AI) Spray Volumes (3):47 L/ha ( orifice tips) 94 L/ha (11003 orifice tips) 187 L/ha (11006 orifice tips) Application Ground Speed:10 km/h Spray Pressure:276 kPa Spray Tip Spacing:76 cm Canopy Boom Height:51 cm

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department DropletScan  used to analyze droplets: System Components

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department What is DropletScan  ? l A software program that will allow accurate and rapid measure of spray droplet impressions on water-sensitive paper. l Developed at K-State by Devore Systems - modeled after ‘Crumbscan’, a software program to determine hole sizes in slices of bread.

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Important Droplet Statistics: l D v0.1 (µm) - 10% of the spray volume in drops < number reported l D v0.5 (µm) - 50% of the spray volume in drops < number reported (also is VMD- volume median diameter) l D v0.9 (µm) - 90% of the spray volume in drops < number reported l Number of droplets under 200 microns

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Important Droplet Statistics: Operational Area

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Collection Procedure:

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department XR AI TT XR AI Sample cards: 5 GPA 10 GPA 20 GPAAll at 40 PSI

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Results and Discussion

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department All Treatments – Number of Droplets < 200 Microns 5 GPA 20 GPA 10 GPA

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Orifice Size Affect – Number of Droplets < 200 Microns

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Summary of Findings - Droplet Count under 200 microns: l At 47 L/ha the extended range flat-fans nearly doubled the turbo flat-fans and created more than four times the venturi flat-fans number of droplets less than 200 microns in size. l At 94 L/ha the extended range flat-fans again nearly doubled the turbo flat-fans and more than tripled the venturi flat-fans for number of droplets created under 200 microns.

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Summary of Findings - Droplet Count under 200 microns: l At 187 L/ha the differences showed similar trends but were not nearly as pronounced. l Increasing the application volumes for each nozzle type by increasing the nozzle orifice size also reduced the number of driftable droplets. l Venturi nozzle designs reduce the number of droplets created under 200 microns in size when compared to extended range and turbo flat-fan nozzle styles.

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department XR Flat-fan and Turbo Flat-fan compared to Venturi Style Nozzle 5.0 MPH wind at 40 psi XR vs TurboDropTurbo Flat vs Turbo Drop

Kansas State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Thanks