Distance away or downwind from a spray zone is critical. Researchers involved in the Mississippi study saw a five-fold, or 80 percent reduction for drift, when the distance downwind was doubled. Planting a buffer strip between a sprayed field and any susceptible vegetation is recommended,'' he said. Using a larger orifice size on the nozzle tip helps, for example, an 8004 tip emits fewer small droplets than the 8003. Use the lowest possible pressure setting within a nozzle's ideal range.
More pressure increases small droplet emissions.
The type of nozzle and tip used governs the amount and size of liquid produced. The drift guard and new air induction tips were designed to lessen the amount of small droplets. Spray equipment dealers have good information on those that emit larger, more uniform droplets,'' he said. Finally, everyone from the grower to the herbicide applicator needs to know about a weather condition called thermal inversion. The anomaly occurs anytime warm air is trapped between two colder layers.