The results come as good news to the farming industry, which has come out of a summer cropping season riddled with cases of spray drift and off-target chemical damage to crops, particularly in cotton.

The main benefits from applying large spray droplets are:

• The reduced instance of spray drift.

• A decrease in loss from evaporation.

Syngenta technical services manager for Australia, Jason Sabeeney, said their three-year trial was designed to evaluate the efficacy of one of their non-selective contact herbicides, Spray Seed, and their cereal selective graminicide herbicide, Axial.

They sprayed difficult-to-control weeds, annual ryegrass and oats, using various nozzles at different spray qualities.

He said the trial found that by using an increased water rate of more than 75 litres/ha, efficacy was not compromised when applying large droplets.

“Providing you keep your water rates up and keep your water volume high you can maintain - if not improve your efficacy on weeds using a whole range of products,” he said.

“…We’re talking about a coarse or very coarse spray quality rather than a fine or medium.

SOURCE: Extract from report in The Land, , NSW, May 8.