Do not apply under conditions
where possible drift to unprotected persons or to food, forage, or other
plantings that might be damaged or the crops thereof rendered unfit for
sale, use or consumption can occur.
- Use the largest droplet
size consistent with acceptable efficacy. Formation of very small
droplets may be minimized by appropriate nozzle selection, by orienting
nozzles away from the air stream as much as possible and by avoiding
excessive spray boom pressure. For groundboom and aerial applications,
use medium or coarser spray nozzles according to ASAE 572 definition
for standard nozzles or a volume mean diameter (VIVID) of 300 microns
or greater for spinning atomizer nozzles.
- Make aerial or ground applications
when the wind velocity favors on-target product deposition. Apply
only when the wind speed is less than 10 mph. For all non-aerial
applications, wind speed must be measured adjacent to the application
site on the upwind side, immediately prior to application.
- Do not make aerial or ground
applications into areas of temperature inversions. Inversions are
characterized by stable air and increasing temperatures with increasing
distance above the ground. Mist or fog may indicate the presence
of an inversion in humid areas. Where permissible by local regulations,
the applicator may detect the presence of an inversion by producing
smoke and observing a smoke layer near the ground surface.
- Low humidity and high temperatures
increase the evaporation rate of spray droplets and therefore the
likelihood of increased spray drift. Avoid spraying during conditions
of low humidity and/or high temperatures.
- All aerial and ground application
equipment must be properly maintained and calibrated using appropriate
carriers.
- For ground boom applications,
apply with nozzle height no more than 4 feet above the ground or
crop canopy.
- For airblast applications,
turn off outward pointing nozzles at row ends and when spraying the
outer two rows. To minimize spray loss over the top in orchard applications,
spray must be directed into the canopy.
- For ground-boom, chemigation,
orchard or other airblast applications, do not apply within 25 feet
of permanent water bodies (rivers, natural ponds, lakes, streams,
reservoirs, marshes, estuaries, or commercial fish ponds).
- For aerial application
to potatoes, do not apply within 150 feet of permanent water bodies
(aquatic buffer zone).
- For aerial application
to crops other than potatoes, do not apply within 50 feet of permanent
water bodies (aquatic buffer zone).
- For aerial applications,
release spray at the lowest height consistent with efficacy and flight
safety. If the application includes an aquatic buffer zone, do not
release spray at a height greater than 10 feet above the ground or
crop canopy.
- For aerial applications,
the spray boom should be mounted on the aircraft so as to minimize
drift caused by wing tip vortices. The minimum practical boom length
should be used and must not exceed 75% of the wingspan or 90% of
rotor blade diameter. Use upwind swath displacement.
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