Pesticide spray drift is a major problem in agriculture today. Among the factors influencing drift, droplet size is of paramount importance. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the effects of adding emulsifying vegetable oil to the pesticide emulsion and using low drift nozzles on droplet spectrum formation and, consequently, on the drift potential of fan spray nozzles. Droplet distribution was measured under controlled atmosphere, using a real time laser particle size analyzer. The droplets were generated with standard nozzles, with and without the addition of adjuvants, and with low drift nozzles, with the operating pressure ranging from 200 to 400 kPa. Also, drift was evaluated in the field, using artificial targets placed outside the application area, where droplet counting was accomplished. The results showed that both the addition of vegetable oil to the pesticide emulsion and the use of low drift nozzles altered droplet size spectra, increasing the diameter of the drops and reducing the percentage of drops subject to wind action being, thus, effective factors in drift reduction.
application technology; nozzles; adjuvants; droplets
