Optimise sprayer performance with an adjuvant
WITH the continuous rainfall this year so far, sprayers are likely to have big and complex tank mixes as spray jobs stack up. Adding an appropriate adjuvant to the tank will help optimise product performance and also be the key to keep sprayers going this spring according to the latest advice from Interagro.
As sprayers up and down the country are 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 oen 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-eective solution to harmonise tank mixes and ensure you get maximum payback from the crop protection products and nutrition you’re spending out on. “It oers so many benefits which will no doubt be hugely valuable over the coming weeks and months.”
Kantor is a unique adjuvant which can buer spray water to pH
6-7, improve tank mix compatibility, reduce spray dri, and enhance product eectiveness 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 ecacy 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.”
Tank mix compatibility is achieved through the products unique emulsification agent.
“Water isn’t a great carrier and variability in both temperature and quality can significantly aect 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 selfemulsifying properties of Kantor helps products mix together thoroughly, even in cold water. It also helps keep products thermodynamically stable in the spray tank.”
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.