For spraying, there are a few ways to get the best out of your application. The first tip is to use the biggest droplet size. The reason for this is mainly gravity. Bigger droplets are heavier and more likely to fall where you intended than smaller ones that the wind can carry away.
Nozzle choice plays the biggest role in the droplet size and spray you want. Remember to look at the bell curve as well, which is how a nozzle is rated for droplet size. Of course, a coarse nozzle will not always save the day. It's still important to check the weather, time-of-day restrictions and the buffer zones on the pesticide label.
Another tip would be to watch for good spraying weather. If your hat gets blown off by the wind, it's probably not a good time to spray. This does not mean that, if you live where the wind never takes a day off, you can't spray. If you have three kilometres an hour to 10 kilometres an hour winds, you are in a good range.
Even calm weather can have a problem. Watch for thermal inversions that don't allow fine particles to move out and disperse. Instead, they hang around in a layer of undisturbed air, moving downhill or moving in unpredictable directions when the wind picks up.
Farming Smarter did a study from 2012 to 2014 to see if spraying at night offered a better alternative improve efficacy due to greater absorption. The results of the study show that, while night spraying was less effective than mid day spraying, it performed better than spraying at dawn, which was the least effective. This means time of day can also make a difference in spray efficacy. You can read more about the night spraying project on Farming Smarter.
When finished spraying, tank cleaning over a biobed system will reduce water contamination by pesticides. See Farming Smarter's project on building and using a biobed. These units biofilter rinsate. At Farming Smarter, we have an on-site biobed to filter 100% of Farming Smarter's rinsate. To learn more about this project visit its project page and take a virtual tour of the project.