March 28, 2013

December 2018 Note: This app is not currently available.

Intended Audience: Pesticide applicators, farmers, agronomists, consultants

Purpose of App: To assist pesticide applicators making ground applications with decisions relating to droplet size and potential for "off-target" movement of pesticides.

Description: The app uses information generated in the wind tunnels at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's West Central Research and Extension Center at North Platte. The app calculates the size of spray droplets generated from various spray nozzles at various pressures using different spray solutions. Pesticide applicators can plug in application parameters for their pesticide applications and get the droplet size range that would be produced. Once they have the droplet size information, they can estimate the potential for drift and adjust their application parameters appropriately.

Fit for Nebraska: This droplet size calculator pertains to every pesticide applicator in the US who is using commonly used hydraulic nozzles for self-propelled, pull-behind, or tractor mounted sprayers. The application allows for rapid assessment of the potential for drift. Spray applicators with pressure nozzles that are producing a lot of small fines (with a high potential for drift) can use the app to find other combinations which would produce fewer fines. The application is a unique tool to assess droplet size and drift potential and rapidly allows the researchers to provide pesticide applicators with the most current information available.

App Reviewer: Greg Kruger, UNL Extension Cropping Systems Specialist

More App Reviews

See more articles on apps as they're published to CropWatch throughout the year.