There are a lot of technical terms you need to know when it comes to spraying. What are the parts and pieces of the boom? How do I read a chemical label? What type of nozzle do I have?
We've got you covered with this ultimate dictionary of sprayer terms!
Mechanical Terms
Air Induction - Drawing air into the spray nozzle to mix it with a spray liquid.
Atomize - To convert a substance into very fine particles or droplets. Certain spray nozzles create a soft circular mist for even coverage.
Band Width - The width of the section of spray coming from one nozzle when it hits the target. Adjusting the height of your nozzle (or boom) while spraying will affect the band width.
Boom Height - The distance between the boom and the crop.
Boom Priming - Flushing out the boom with water.
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Coverage - The amount of your target that will be covered by your chemical from a specific spray nozzle or spray boom.
Drag - The force on the liquid that comes out of the nozzle, caused by air resistance.
Droplet size - The size of the droplets that come out of the spray nozzles.
Flow Rate - The rate of flow or volume of liquid passing through your nozzles. Commonly measured in GPM (gallons per minute).
Nozzle Spacing - The width between each nozzle on the spray boom.
Nozzle - Device that breaks up the spray liquid into droplets and disperses them in a pattern. The nozzle also regulates the flow rate. The tip of the nozzle can be changed for different spray patterns.
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Overlapping - When two passes of spraying overlap each other resulting in more chemicals being applied to certain sections than others, if swath coverage isn't an option.
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Prescription Map - A tool that helps implements apply resources, such as seed, fertilizers, and chemicals, to specific areas of a field based on their unique needs. Prescription maps are created using soil nutrient levels and historical yields to determine the optimal amount of input for each geo-referenced zone of the field.
Pressure - The pressure at which the liquid is ejected from the nozzles.
Pulse-width modulation (PWM) - A digital technique that controls a signal by repeatedly switching it between a high and low state. The width of each pulse is a function of the signal's amplitude. PWM allows for variable rate control of flow through electronically actuated solenoid valves on a sprayer.
SymphonyNozzle™ - A pulse width modulation system (PWM), that is easy to install and simple to service. Maintain consistent rate and spray quality on your sprayer, even around turns and as you speed up and slow down.
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Spray Drift - When chemicals drift off-target during application, usually due to wind.
Spray Pattern - The shape of the fluid released from nozzles. Various spray patterns exist.
Sprayer Calibration - The process of adjusting or aligning sprayer components to ensure that the sprayer delivers the correct volume per area when applying chemicals.
Spraying Speed - The speed you are traveling at when you apply product.
Variable Rate - A technique that applies different rates of inputs, like fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds, to different field areas. VRT aims to maximize crop output while minimizing waste and environmental impact.
Variable Rate "Live" - With SymphonyVision the individual nozzles are applying a variable rate in real-time based on what the camera detects. The nozzles may be completely off if no weeds are detected with SymphonyVision | Spot.
Mathematical Terms
Application rate - The spray volume or quantity of liquid applied to your target per unit area.
Delta T - The difference between two temperatures, calculated by subtracting the wet bulb temperature from the dry bulb temperature. A good indicator for acceptable spraying conditions is typically between 2 and 10.
Deviation - The difference in flow rates between different nozzles on the boom. A deviation of more than 10% between nozzles can cause inaccurate spraying. Deviation is typically caused by worn out nozzles.
Dilution - Mixing chemical with water to make it weaker. Please read label instructions for the proper ratio.
Efficacy - The effectiveness of your spraying effort on the area you are targeting.
Inversions (inversion layer) - A layer of the atmosphere in which air temperature increases with height. This is inverting the normal decrease of air temperature with height. Strong inversions can cause smaller particles to float in the air and drift with the wind.
Spray Concentration - The percentage of chemicals in the spray mix. This is closely related to water volume.
Water Volume - The amount of water in the mixing tank. Applied in gallons per acre.
Agronomic Terms
Adjuvants - An additive to improve herbicide effectiveness such as oils, surfactants, defoamers, and drift retardants.
Buffer Zone - The space between an approved application area and an adjacent land area that is not approved for application. This gap is to prevent chemicals from affecting other land areas.
Burndown - A chemical used to control weeds before the crop is growing or after the crop is harvested. Burndown herbicides can be used in a variety of ways, including:
- Before planting - Remove weeds before planting crops, which can help create a clean seedbed.
- Post-harvest - Control weeds after harvesting crops that could compete with the next season's crop.
Canopy - The aboveground portion of a plant, formed by a group of individual plant crowns. Once big enough, the crop canopy will shade the soil surface from receiving light.
Chemical Residue - Traces of a chemical that remain on a treated product after some time.
Evaporation - The rate at which the spray evaporates.
Fungicide - A chemical that destroys fungus.
Herbicide - A substance that is toxic to plants and used to destroy unwanted vegetation.
- Contact Herbicide - Only kills part of the plant that is contacted.
- Systemic Herbicide - Moves throughout weed to kill it.
- Residual Herbicide - Remains active in the soil for an extended period, controlling weeds for weeks or longer but is not intended to kill existing weeds.
Insecticide - A substance used for killing insects.
Mode-of-Action (MOA) - The way an herbicide affects a plant at the tissue or cellular level. Multiple MOA increase program effectiveness.
Penetration - The amount of chemical that lands and stays on the target.
Pesticide - A substance used to destroy insects or other organisms harmful to plants.
Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) - Chemical substances that can increase or decrease plant growth and development. PGRs can be natural or synthetic and can act as promoters or inhibitors.
Post-Emerge Application - Applying a chemical to weeds in a crop that has emerged.
Pre-Emerge Application - Applying a chemical to weeds before the crop has emerged.
Uptake - The absorption of chemicals into the plant after it is applied.
Weed Density - Amount of area covered with weeds. High-density weed areas can be difficult to treat due to overlapping weeds reducing coverage.
Weed Escape - Weeds that grow after a chemical application, mostly due to missed application or environmental factors.
Weed Severity - A metric that combines weed size and density. One big weed or a high density of small weeds are both high weed severity. This term is unique to Precision Planting and helps determine how SymphonyVision cameras react.
Weed Types:
- Broadleaf - Weeds with wide, flat leaves that are usually larger than grass blades. They also have visible stems that can grow from a few centimeters to several feet in height.
- Grass - Any of a large family (Gramineae or Poaceae) of monocotyledonous plants having narrow leaves, hollow stems, and clusters of very small, usually wind-pollinated flowers.
- Broadleaf + Grass - Combination of broadleaf and grasses in an overlapping area.
- Emerging - Weeds that have roots below the soil surface and have stems emerging through the soil surface.
