The fourth blog on stewardship of XtendiMax and Engenia on Xtend crops will revisit nozzles. Dr. Bob Wolf, a leading expert on nozzles, wrote me after he read my last blog and stated that his research would suggest that the ideal pressure range to run TTI11004 nozzles on is between 45 and 60 PSI.  I had suggested 30 to 60 psi.

Keep in mind the operating pressure range for a TTI11004 in the Spraying System catalog says 15 to 100 psi.  That information can be misleading as just because they can be run at those pressures does not mean that they should be run at those pressures.  When the TTI11004 is operated above 60 psi it moves from producing an ultra coarse droplet size to a (smaller) extra coarse droplet size and, even more troubling, it increases the amount of fines produced.

On the other end of the scale if the pressure falls too low (Dr. Wolf suggests below 45 psi) the spray pattern starts to really fall apart. This can lead to inconsistent weed control.

In the last blog I suggested that pressure gauge should replace your speedometer.  That is keep the sprayer speed where the spray pressure stays between 30-60 psi.  However, Dr. Wolf has a world of experience working with nozzles so I will defer to him and recommend that the operating pressure window for the TTI11004 be between 45 and 60 psi.

In the Application Requirements  please find Dr. Wolfs guidelines for sorting BMPs for the Auxin herbicide trait technologies.