Spray drift potential of dicamba plus S-metolachlor formulations.

BACKGROUND: Early-postemergence herbicide applications in the USA often include residual herbicides such as S-metolachlor to suppress late late-emerging Amaranthus spp. Although this practice benefits weed control, herbicide tankmixes can influence spray droplet size and drift potential during applications. The addition of S-metolachlor products to dicamba spray solutions generally decreases spray droplet size and increases spray drift potential. Advances in formulation technology fostered the development of products with reduced spray drift potential, especially for herbicide premixes containing multiple active ingredients. The objective of this study was to compare the drift potential of a novel dicamba plus S-metolachlor premix formulation (capsule suspension) against a tankmix containing dicamba (soluble liquid) and S-metolachlor (emulsifiable concentrate) using different venturi nozzles. RESULTS: The MUG nozzle had greater DV0.5 (1128.6 µm) compared to the ULDM (930.3 µm), TDXL-D (872.9 µm), and TTI nozzles (854.8 µm). The premix formulation had greater DV0.5 (971.0 µm) compared to the tankmix (922.3 µm). Nozzle influenced spray drift deposition (P < 0.0001) and soybean biomass reduction (P = 0.0465). Herbicide formulation influenced spray drift deposition (P < 0.0001), and biomass reduction of soybean (P < 0.0001) and cotton (P = 0.0479). The novel capsule suspension formulation (premix) of dicamba plus S-metolachlor had reduced area under the drift curve (AUDC) (577.6) compared to the tankmix (913.7). Applications using the MUG nozzle reduced AUDC (459.9) compared to the other venturi nozzles (ranging from 677.4 to 1141.7). CONCLUSION: Study results evidence that advances in pesticide formulation can improve pesticide drift mitigation. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Hooded broadcast sprayer for particle drift reduction.

BACKGROUND: There is renewed interest amongst crop protection professionals and regulators in the adoption of spray hoods to further reduce pesticide off-target movement during applications. Although the benefits of sprayer hoods have been reported since the early 1950s, adoption has been relatively low among farmers and applicators. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of spray hoods in reducing pesticide drift of spray solutions from nozzles typically used for herbicide applications in row crops with tolerance to dicamba or 2,4-D. RESULTS: Hooded applications substantially reduced spray drift potential across all treatment scenarios compared to conventional applications. Hooded applications using the AIXR nozzle without drift-reducing adjuvant (DRA) had a similar area under the drift curve (31.5) compared to conventional applications (open sprayer) using the TTI nozzle with DRA (27.7), despite the major droplet size differences between these treatments (DV50  = 447.5 and 985 µm, respectively). CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the adoption of spray hoods combined with proper nozzle selection, and the use of DRAs can substantially reduce spray drift potential during pesticide applications. The use of this technology can be complementary to other drift-reducing technologies. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Características físico-químicas de soluções aquosas com adjuvantes de uso agrícola / Hysico-chemical characteristics of aqueous solutions with adjuvants for agricultural use / Pesticide application efficacy on crops can be improved by adding adjuvants to tank mixtures. The present study evaluated the adjuvant effect, in different doses, on the physico-chemical characteristics of aqueous solutions. The hidrogenionic potential, electrical conductivity, density, dynamic viscosity, surface tension and stability of aqueous solution with eight commercial adjuvants were evaluated at the recommended dose (full-dose) and at half of it (half-dose), besides the distilled water alone. A randomized design with four replications was used, in a hierarchy factorial scheme (8´2+1). From the results it can be concluded that the adjuvant effect on the physico-chemical characteristics of aqueous solutions was based on their chemical properties and formulation. The performance of these characteristics was not similar, even for additives with the same use recommendation. The physico-chemical characteristics for each adjuvant were affected differently by the dose alteration. The pH, surface tension and viscosity were the most sensitive characteristics to the adjuvant addition. / Características fisicoquímicas de soluciones acuosas con adyuvantes de uso agrícola

Uma das formas para aumentar a eficiência das aplicações de agrotóxicos nas lavouras é a adição de adjuvantes à calda. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito da adição de adjuvantes, em diferentes doses, nas características físico-químicas de soluções aquosas. Foram avaliados potencial hidrogeniônico, condutividade elétrica, densidade, viscosidade dinâmica, tensão superficial e estabilidade de soluções aquosas contendo oito adjuvantes comerciais de uso agrícola, em sua dose recomendada pelo fabricante (dose-cheia) e na metade da dose (meia-dose), além de uma amostra com apenas água destilada. Foi utilizado delineamento inteiramente casualizado, com quatro repetições, num fatorial hierarquizado 8´2+1. Dos resultados pôde-se concluir que o efeito dos adjuvantes nas caracterísiticas físico-quimicas das soluções aquosas mostrou-se dependente de sua composição química e formulação. O comportamento dessas características não foi semelhante, mesmo para produtos com mesma indicação de uso. A alteração da dose influenciou as características físico-químicas de maneira diferenciada para cada adjuvante. O pH, a tensão superficial e a viscosidade foram as propriedades mais sensíveis à adição dos adjuvantes.

Una de las formas de aumentar la eficiencia de las aplicaciones de agroquímicos en los cultivos es el agregado de coadyuvantes al caldo de pulverización. El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo evaluar el efecto del agregado de adyuvantes a diferentes dosis en las características físicoquímicas de soluciones acuosas. Se realizaron evaluaciones de pH, conductividad eléctrica, densidad, viscosidad dinámica, tensión superficial y estabilidad de soluciones acuosas con ocho adyuvantes comerciales de uso agrícola a la dosis recomendada por el fabricante y a media dosis, además de una muestra de agua destilada. Se utilizo un diseño experimental de parcelas al azar con cuatro repeticiones con un arreglo factorial de los tratamientos 8´2+1. De los resultados se concluye que el efecto de los adyuvantes en las características físicoquímicas de las soluciones acuosas resultó dependiente de su composición química y su formulación. El comportamiento de esas características fue diferente incluso para productos con la misma indicación de utilización. La dosis influenció las características físicoquímicas de manera diferencial para cada adyuvante. El pH, la tensión superficial y la viscosidad fueron las propiedades más sensibles al agregado de los adyuvantes.