Spray Droplet Analysis of Air Induction Nozzles .docVIP

Using ‘DropletScan(’ to Analyze Spray Quality R.E. Wolf, W. L. Williams, D.R. Gardisser, R.W. Whitney Introduction Specific knowledge about crop protection product performance for each target with different nozzles will be necessary information for future application decisions. Droplet size and spectrum has been identified as the one variable that most affects drift (SDTF, 1997). Droplet size produced by the nozzle is the controlling factor in gallonage per acre, target deposition, uniformity of coverage, efficacy, off-target movement, and resulting exposure. Many forces impinge on droplet size, but it is still the drop size that must be manipulated to optimize performance and eliminate associated undesirable results (Williams, et. al., 1999). Over the last several years there has been an increased interest by nozzle manufactures to engineer nozzles that will effectively reduce the volume of driftable fines found in spray droplet spectrums. This is being successfully accomplished with the use of a preorifice and also with turbulation chambers (R. Wolf, 2000). Now, there is a new trend with spray nozzle design to incorporate a ‘venturi’ that includes the spray droplet in air to lessen the drift potential while still maintaining adequate efficacy. Several nozzle manufacturers are including this new design as a part of a marketing campaign for drift control. Early research would indicate that the venturi nozzle is producing larger spray droplets (Womac, 1997; Ozkan, 1998; R. Wolf, et.al., 1999). Some would contend that the increased droplet size may reduce the effect of the crop protectant product used. For some targets that are hard-to-wet, a finer spray may be required. This would suggest using a higher pressure with venturi nozzles to achieve good coverage (T. Wolf, 1999; R. Wolf, et.al., 1999). A major focus for field research with the venturi nozzle design is to determine if in fact, while reducing drift, a desired level of efficacy ca