Deposition of spray droplets by four spray nozzles and two working pressures

Abstract

The deposition of spray droplets on the target can be influenced by the type spray nozzle used, as well as the employed working pressure. Thus, with the commercial availability of new spray nozzles, performance studies with the new models become necessary. This study was carried out to evaluate ground deposition of spray droplets by four models of spray nozzles, at two working pressures. The experiment was conducted in Dourados/MS, in September 2020, with strip design and 4x2 factorial scheme, with five repetitions. Four spray nozzles were used (single flat fan, ST-IA 02 model; angle flat fan MUG 02; hollow cone MGA 02; and double flat fan ST-IA/D 02), working at 30 and 50 psi pressures. The distance between each nozzle was 50 cm, 60 cm above the ground. Water-sensitive paper was used and, immediately after application, the paper was scanned using the DropScan® tool. Subsequently, the number of droplets, coverage, amplitude, dispersion, Volume Median Diameter (VMD), Number Median Diameter (NMD), DV09, and DV01 were evaluated. The hollow cone spray nozzle provided a higher number of droplets and greater coverage compared to the other nozzles for the studied weather conditions.