Environmental contamination and operator safety are critical considerations whenever agrochemicals are applied. This is especially true when working with glyphosate, one of the most widely used herbicides in vegetation management. Effective application is not just about controlling weeds – it is about ensuring the product reaches only the intended target while minimising exposure to the user and the surrounding environment.
There are three main sources of potential contamination from agrochemicals spraying:
- Very fine drops will drift off target and also represent a risk of respiratory contamination to the sprayer operator
- Larger droplets or over spraying will result in run off and the potential contamination of clothing and the surrounding environment
- The potential for operator contamination when sprayers are refilled or the glyphosate is mixture with water to dilute it.
All three of the sources of contamination are greatly reduced by controlled droplet application (CDA) combined with ultra low volume (ULV) spraying.
Firstly, fine droplets are eliminated by the nature of the CDA sprayer. There are almost no fine droplets present, and all the spray consists of a very narrow band of drop sizes, unlike conventional sprayers which will have heavier and smaller droplets mixed. This eliminates almost entirely any risk of drift and respiratory contamination.
Runoff is also eliminated as a source of contamination. Because neat glyphosate is applied in very low flow rates there is almost nothing to “run off”. Used properly, almost all the chemicals will stick to the target plant with no wastage.
Finally, the Mankar sprayer will need to be refilled about 4 times less than a conventional sprayer and, because it uses neat glyphosate, there is no need for mixing. This dramatically reduces any user contamination risk.
This has been scientifically tested. A study in 2004 found that CDA spraying reduced operator exposure significantly with the amount of fluid potentially inhaled being 130 times less than with conventional spraying and reductions in PPE contamination of up to a factor of 10.
So, if operator contamination is a concern then switching to CDA/ULV sprayers is a great idea.