In the past few decades, agriculture has evolved a lot in terms of:

• Seed quality.
• Crop genetics and characteristics.
• Crop protection product molecules are becoming more effective and less toxic to humans.
• Crop protection product application technology improvement.
• New agriculture equipment that offers greater efficiency and safety during the application.
• Spray tips engineered to reduce drift and provide better performance, ensuring that the applied product stays in the field and on the target.

This application technology improvement has occurred in response to a better understanding of many factors, such as:

• The knowledge of the target and its location.
• The spraying equipment type and its parts.
• The environment type and weather conditions where the application will occur.
• The correct moment for the application.
• The product type that will be applied.

Crop protection product application technology can be defined as the use of scientific knowledge that provides the correct placement of the biologically active product on the intended target in the necessary quantity, in an economical manner, and with minimal contamination of non-target areas (MATUO, 1990). To have a successful application, it is necessary to understand the entire process and answer some questions?

What is the target pest and where is it located?

• In which growth stage will the application occur?
• Where is the crop protection product application going to take place?
• What are the ideal weather conditions?
• What type of product will be applied, and how does it translocate in the plant?
• What type of sprayer will be used to apply crop protection products?
• What spray tip should I use?
• Who is the spray tip/nozzle manufacturer and why does it matter?

What is the target and where is it located?

To choose the appropriate crop protection product and application technology to control the target, it is important to understand where it is placed in the field. Is this target in the soil, or in the flowers, fruits, branches, leaves? Is it on the lower surface (adaxial) or upper surface (adaxial) of a leaf? Does it need more or less coverage to be controlled?

In which crop growth stage will the application occur?

The crop protection product application occurs at different times along the crop growth stages, with a variation of vegetative mass amounts on the field leading to adjusting the ideal technology for the application. Areas with an open canopy (left photo), require the choice of a spray tip that provides different coverage and penetration than areas with a greater plant density – canopy is completely closed (right photo).

Where is the crop protection product application going to take place?

If the application occurs near susceptible crops, urban areas, livestock, or bodies of water (rivers, lakes, and ponds), the concern should be for maximum application safety. Several things should be considered to help keep the product on the target, such as spraying under the recommended weather conditions and choosing a spray tip engineered to produce fewer fine droplets that could drift off-target.

What are the ideal weather conditions?

Temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and wind direction all influence the effectiveness of the crop protection spray application. The recommended weather conditions for a safe application are temperatures lower than 86^°F (30^°C) and above 50°F (10^°C), relative humidity higher than 55%, and wind speed between 3 and 10 MPH (5 and 17 km/h).

As illustrated above, temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed vary throughout the day. Therefore, it is necessary to be attentive to the weather conditions during the application to control the crop protection product applications and to prevent spray drift. Hint: spray your most sensitive areas during the best conditions of the day.