Mar 20 2024

How to gain spraying hours and efficacy this spring

With the continuous rainfall now dominating much of March, when sprayers do get going mixes are likely to be big and complex as spray jobs stack up. Adding an appropriate adjuvant to the tank will not only help optimise product performance, it could also be the key to keep sprayers going this spring, according to the latest advice from Interagro.

As sprayers up and down the country sit primed and ready to get going, having to get a lot done in a short space of time is looking likely to be the theme once again this spring, says Stuart Sutherland, technical manager at Interagro. “The past few years have been tough on sprayer operators, with catchy weather windows putting pressure on already big workloads.”

The impact of this is likely to be suboptimal, complex mixes in the tank and the issues with this exacerbated by the likelihood of mixing products in cold water, he adds. “With products often added via the induction hopper, the issue is that you may not even know there is a mixing problem until you get blocked nozzles.”

While this can be a big problem, Stuart says that adding adjuvant Kantor to the tank is a simple, cost-effective solution to harmonise tank mixes and gain spraying hours and efficacy – all ensuring you get maximum payback from your crop protection and nutrition inputs you’re spending out on. “It offers so many benefits which will no doubt be hugely valuable over the coming weeks and months.”

Key points:

  • Catchy weather windows are putting pressure on already big workloads.
  • When sprayers get going tank mixes are likely to be big and complex as spray jobs stack up.
  • Adding adjuvant Kantor is a simple, cost-effective solution to harmonise tank mixes, and gain spraying hours and efficacy.

Homogenous solutions

Kantor is a unique adjuvant which can buffer spray water to pH 6-7, improve tank mix compatibility, reduce spray drift, and enhance product effectiveness by increasing coverage, adhesion and penetration across plant surfaces, he explains. “In fact, it’s the only one-can adjuvant solution on the market that alleviates risk across the entire spraying operation – from tank mixing, through to spraying and even down to action on target plants.

“It is an extremely versatile product which uniquely improves the efficacy of all products in the tank-mix and from a practical point of view, gives growers the flexibility for complex tank mixing in a single pass.”

How to gain spraying hours and efficacy this spring

 

Tank mix compatibility is achieved through Kantor’s unique emulsification agent. “Water isn’t a great carrier and variability in both temperature and quality can significantly affect how well products dissolve in it.

“This is then exacerbated by other factors such as including more than three products into the mix, the formulation of those products and mixing conditions – such as low water volumes, high pH, hardness and low water temperature. The self-emulsifying properties of Kantor helps products mix together thoroughly, even in cold water. It also helps keep products thermodynamically stable in the spray tank.”

Spray mix stability

The pH level can cause significant issues too – particularly if it is too high, says Stuart. “Some products undergo a chemical reaction known as alkaline hydrolysis in water. The more alkaline the water, the faster the breakdown, reducing the lethal dose of active ingredient to work on target plants/diseases.

“Adding Kantor to the spray tank before chemistry conditions the water by lowering pH and therefore preventing alkaline hydrolysis, creating more optimum conditions for your spray mix.”

Rainfastness and drift reduction

With spray windows likely to be tight over the coming weeks, the improved rainfastness and drift reduction properties of Kantor can help both extend these windows and keep crop protection where it needs to be for longer. “Kantor enables more precise and targeted applications by significantly reducing the number of <100 micron fine spray droplets which are most susceptible to drift,” explains Stuart. “Crucially, this reduces the risk of off-target damage and environmental contamination, while also providing flexibility in scheduling crop protection applications.”

Optimising droplet size

The addition of Kantor also helps to create a more optimal droplet size to improve deposition and adhesion to plant surfaces by the number of coarse droplets, he adds. “It’s likely we’ll see bigger weeds than usual this season, with a flush no doubt imminent when temperatures do warm up. This will make it harder to optimise coverage, so Kantor is likely to help in this scenario too.

“What’s more, Kantor’s ability to reduce surface tension and promote spreading results in better coverage of target plants, leading to more effective treatment overall.”

Alleviates the pressure points

While the coming weeks are likely to be challenging, leaning on the benefits of an adjuvant could help alleviate some of the pressure, concludes Stuart. “They’re not a silver bullet, and while care should always be taken to ensure mixes are compatible and best practice is followed, an adjuvant like Kantor could be a farmer’s best friend in what is likely to be a challenging few months.”

Winning Ways

Amid a constant battle with declining chemistry and catchy weather windows, including Kantor in the spray tank is proving essential for one Wiltshire spray operator. CPM finds out more – read the article here.

Maximise crop protection performance with adjuvant Kantor

More information and suppliers

Based on the unique, patented class of adjuvant chemistry – the alkoxylated triglycerides – Kantor offers the broadest range of benefits of any adjuvant on the market. Uniquely versatile, adding Kantor to your spray mixture gives you the flexibility to enhance the performance of all products in your tank– post-emergence herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, PGRs, and nutrition.

Our product booklet is packed full of trials data and info on how to apply Kantor – you can download it here.

For any technical questions and to talk through how adjuvant Kantor could help you gain spraying hours and efficacy this spring, please contact Stuart below.

Kantor is available to purchase through Agrii.

Get in touch

Require technical assistance or product information? Please get in touch with Will Ramsay.

For all other general enquiries, please email or call us at the office. If you’d prefer, drop us a message using our contact form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

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