1. SELECTING SPRAY TIPS FOR APPLICATIONS TO TURF
W. E. Hart and J. B. Wills – Biosystems Engineering and Environmental Science Department; T. J. Samples, J. C. Sorochan, J. S. McElroy and D. K. Robinson - Plant Sciences Department; and D. M. Shepard - Syngenta Professional Products

4. Spray Tips Meter flow rate. Atomize liquid into droplets.
Disperse droplets in a specific pattern.
Propel droplets to the turf surface.

6. Spray Tip Identification

7. VisiFlo® Color Coding Standard

9. There must be enough pressure to develop the pattern.

10. Spray Angle
The actual spray width will be less than theoretical due to gravity.
Minimum overlap is critical, maximum overlap is not.
A 30 percent overlap is recommended for most tapered spray patterns.
Avoid spray angle collapse when using drift retardants.

11. Doubling the spraying pressure does not double the gallons per acre.
Spraying pressure must be increased 4 times to double flow through a spray tip.
As spraying pressure is increased, droplet size decreases and orifice wear increases.
Pressure should be used to make only small adjustments in output.

13. Malvern Laser Analyzer

14. Cutting the Droplet Size in Half Produces Eight Times the Number of Droplets
250
Microns
250
Microns
500
Microns
250
Microns
250
Microns
250
Microns
250
Microns
250
Microns
250
Microns

15. Number of Droplets per Sq. Inch When Applying 20 GPA Liquid
Droplet Size (micron)
Droplets per square inch (20 GPA)
50 - Fog
180,000
100 – Very Fine
22,500
200 - Fine
2800
300 - Medium
860
400 – Coarse
360
500 – Extremely coarse 44
A micron = 1/1,000 mm or 1/25,000 inch.
If droplets are too small (e.g. < 150 microns in diameter), they can drift.
Coverage can also be improved by increasing the spray volume.

16. Droplet Size Categories
Category
Symbol
Color Code
Approximate VMD (0.5)
Very fine VF
Red
<150 microns
Fine F
Orange
150 – 250
Medium M
Yellow
250 – 350
Coarse C
Blue
350 – 450
Very coarse VC
Green
450 – 550
Extremely coarse XC
White
>550
All spray tips produce a range of droplet sizes.
VMD (volume mean diameter) = droplet size where ½ of volume has droplets > the VMD, and ½ the volume has droplets smaller than the VMD.

17. Droplet Size as Affected by Spraying Pressure Turbo TeeJet®
1 bar = 15 PSI of pressure.

18. Multiple-Tip Nozzle Body
XRC™
TwinJet™
Turbo TeeJet®
AI TeeJet®
TurfJet™

20. XR TeeJet® Flat Fan Coverage
Syngenta sponsored research, Dr. Paul Vincelli, University of Kentucky, 2004.
Yellow moisture-sensitive paper turns blue when moisture contacts paper.
Excellent coverage.
Compliments of Dr. Dennis Shepard, Syngenta

21. Compliments of Dr. Dennis Shepard, Syngenta
XRC Flat Fan Spray Tips
Compliments of Dr. Dennis Shepard, Syngenta

22. XRC Flat Fan Spray Droplets
Syngenta sponsored research, TeeJet® and Dr. Mike Fidanza, Pennsylvania State University, 2004.
Clear drops are dew; blue drops contain the fungicide Daconil.
Excellent coverage.
Compliments of Dr. Dennis Shepard, Syngenta

23. Effect of Pressure on Droplet Size XR & XRC TeeJet®
Colors in the left column refer to the VisiFlo color coding guide for spray tips.

24. XR/XRC TeeJet® Flat Fan Spray Tips
Driftable Fine % at 40 psi: XR = 5%
(<150 Microns) XR11004 = 14%

26. Air Induction Spray Tips

27. AI TeeJet® Spray Tips
AI Spray Tips

28. Air Induction TeeJet® Spray Tip Coverage
Syngenta sponsored research, Dr. Paul Vincelli, University of Kentucky, 2004.
Yellow moisture-sensitive paper turns blue when moisture contacts paper.
Excellent coverage.
Compliments of Dr. Dennis Shepard, Syngenta

29. AI/AIC TeeJet® Spray Tips
Driftable Fine % at 40 psi: AI11004VS = < 1%
(<150 Microns)

30. Compliments of Dr. Dennis Shepard, Syngenta
TurfJet™ Spray Tips
Compliments of Dr. Dennis Shepard, Syngenta

31. TurfJet™ Wide Angle Flat Spray Tips
Integrated pre-orifice design allows for extremely coarse droplets for little to no drift.
Patented turbulence chamber produces a wide angle flat fan spray pattern with an excellent spray distribution.
Recommended spraying pressures are from 25 – 75 psi.

32. TurfJet™ Spray Tip Droplets
Syngenta sponsored research, TeeJet and Dr. Mike Fidanza, Pennsylvania State University, 2004.
Clear drops are dew; blue drops contain the fungicide Daconil.
Fair coverage.
Compliments of Dr. Dennis Shepard, Syngenta

33. TurfJet™ Spray Tip Coverage
Syngenta sponsored research, Dr. Paul Vincelli, University of Kentucky, 2004.
Yellow moisture-sensitive paper turns blue when moisture contacts paper.
Fair coverage.
Compliments of Dr. Dennis Shepard, Syngenta

34. TurfJet™ Wide Angle Flat Spray Nozzles
Driftable Fine % at 40 psi: 1/4TTJ04-VS = < 1%
(<150 Microns)

35. Raindrop Spray Tip Coverage
Syngenta sponsored research with Dr. Paul Vincelli, University of Kentucky, 2004.
Yellow moisture-sensitive paper turns blue when moisture contacts paper.
Fair coverage.
Compliments of Dr. Dennis Shepard, Syngenta

36. Turbo TeeJet® Spray Tips

37. Turbo TeeJet® Spray Tips
1 bar = 15 PSI of pressure.

38. Turbo TeeJet® Spray Tips
Driftable Fine % at 40 psi: TT11004 = < 2%
(<150 Microns)

39. XRC TeeJet® Flat Fan Coverage
TurfJet™ Coverage
XRC TeeJet® Flat Fan Coverage

40. Drift Potential

41. Fungicides Spray Tip Contact Systemic Air Induction TeeJet® Good
Excellent
TeeJet® Standard Flat
Good - Excellent
Good - Very Good
Turbo TeeJet® Wide Angle Flat
Very Good - Excellent
TurfJet™ Wide Angle Flat
TwinJet™ Twin Flat
XR TeeJet® Extended Range Flat

42. Herbicides Spray Tip Contact Systemic Air Induction TeeJet® Good
Excellent
TeeJet® Standard Flat
Good - Excellent
Good - Very Good
Turbo TeeJet® Wide Angle Flat
Very Good - Excellent
TurfJet™ Wide Angle Flat
TwinJet™ Twin Flat
XR TeeJet® Extended Range Flat

43. Insecticides Spray Tip Contact Systemic Air Induction TeeJet® Good
Excellent
TeeJet® Standard Flat
Good - Excellent
Good - Very Good
Turbo TeeJet® Wide Angle Flat
Very Good - Excellent
TurfJet™ Wide Angle Flat
TwinJet™ Twin Flat
XR TeeJet® Extended Range Flat

44. The authors wish to thank the Spraying Systems Co. , P. O
The authors wish to thank the Spraying Systems Co., P. O. Box 7900, Wheaton, IL for providing graphics and information.