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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Aerial Application Technology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #363861
Research Project: Aerial Application Technology for Sustainable Crop Production

Location: Aerial Application Technology Research

Title: How to set up your system to meet the label

Author
item Fritz, Bradley - Brad

Submitted to: Agricultural Aviation
Publication Type: Popular Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/10/2019
Publication Date: 5/26/2019
Citation: Fritz, B.K. 2019. How to set up your system to meet the label. Agricultural Aviation. pp. 53-59.

Interpretive Summary: Agricultural chemical product labels can be challenging to work with making it difficult to understand how best to set up and operate a given aerial spray system to meet the requirements specified. Using a number of decision systems developed for aerial application, the process of determining the application requirements and properly selecting nozzles and operational settings to meet these requirements is presented through the use of a fixed and rotary wing application scenario. Having a working knowledge of this process will allow applicators to successfully read the label and decide what is necessary to make a legal application.

Technical Abstract: Agrochemical labels can be challenging to work with and interpret as you go through the process of determining how best to set up and operate your aircraft to meet the requirements specified. While it is beyond the scope of this article to attempt to fix the labels, it will hopefully provide some guidance on a process you can use to determine the most appropriate nozzles and operational settings that satisfy label specifications. Additionally, I hope to inform you of the tools that are available to you to make this process more efficient. This whole process starts with the product you are applying, and likely the crop or pest targeted. The crop/pest type probably will play a role in determining the spray rate and mixing rate needed. With this information, it is up to you to read the label and decide what is necessary to make a legal application, which includes everything from mixing requirements, meteorological conditions, geographical limitations, and so on. We will focus on the elements associated with droplet size requirements for drift management and product efficacy.