Drift retardants combat drift & ensure on-target spraying
Timely on-target spray application is a key objective for effective pesticide applications, but even on a “good” spray day, drift may set you back. Adding a drift retardant in to the spray tank will help combat drift and keep your sprays on target.
Why do we need drift retardants?
- To eliminate spray drift & protect off-targets
- Keep spraying in marginal weather
- Maximise spray deposition & coverage on the target
- Enhance the benefits of low drift nozzles
What is a drift retardant?
Drift retardants combat drift and ensure on-target spraying. A drift retardant is a chemical that you can add to your spray mixture to reduce drift. It is designed to help maximise the performance of a pesticide and protect off-targets by binding very small spray particles, which are prone to drift, into larger droplets so they are more capable of hitting their target.
Drift retardants enhance the spraying process
Reduce drift & maximise deposition on the target
Drift retardants (and adjuvants / water conditioners with anti-drift benefits) work by changing the viscosity of the spray solution. They reduce the number of ultra-fine spray droplets, smaller than 100 microns which are the most susceptible to drift, and increase spray angle uniformity at the nozzle. So with the inclusion of a drift retardant more of your spray mixture reaches its intended destination which is good for efficacy and the wider environment.
Keeping sprays on target means you also have greater flexibility to go spraying in marginal weather. When it comes to blight control, this can be a crucial benefit and why growers love drift retardant Crusade.
Maximise coverage
A good drift retardant, such as Crusade, will optimise droplet size at either end of the droplet size spectrum so as well as reducing drift, coverage can also be maximised to all parts of the crop canopy.
They coalesce ultra-fine droplets into small droplets so they are less prone to drift and split very coarse droplets (a feature of low drift nozzles) into smaller droplets so they are less prone to bounce or run off from the leaf. This way, droplet size is optimal for coverage & protection to the whole crop, including deeper into the canopy. This can be crucial for crops such as potatoes where maximising fungicide coverage can be difficult, yet essential.
Types of products offering anti-drift benefits
Drift Retardant
The sole purpose of a drift retardant is drift reduction to keep sprays on target. They do not exhibit any adjuvant properties whatsoever e.g. Crusade.
Adjuvant
There are a wide range of adjuvants on the market to help optimise the spray delivery process. Some have anti-drift benefits built-in to the formulation e.g. Kantor.
Water Conditioner
The purpose of a water conditioner is to optimise spray water quality. Some water conditioners also have drift reduction built-in e.g. Volta-Ego.
Choosing the right anti-drift solution
Drift retardants combat drift & ensure on-target spraying. Whether you select to use a drift retardant or an adjuvant/water conditioner with anti-drift properties, will depend on the field/crop/crop protection you are applying, and whether you’re spray mixture needs optimising in other ways.
We have a number of solutions with anti-drift properties
Our drift retardants to combat drift & ensure on-target spraying
Crusade
Crusade helps to maximise protection against blight by removing the physical limitations on blight fungicides to work at their best. By manipulating droplet size it helps deliver fungicide down to the middle and lower leaves of the canopy and reduces the driftable fines that reduce coverage at the top of the canopy. The significant drift reduction helps keep growers spraying. This makes Crusade a vital addition to ensure sprays are both targeted and timely for added reliability and security.
You can find out more about Crusade by clicking here. Crusade is available to purchase through AgriiUK
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