The new Syngenta 3D ninety drift reduction nozzle that can better balance the demands of improving application efficacy and minimising environmental loss has been launched at the International Sprays & Sprayers event in Lincolnshire, this week (30 June).
The iconic design of the Syngenta 3D ninety combines the exceptional performance of the company’s renowned 3D nozzle, with all the benefits of revolutionary 90% drift reduction technology (DRT), according to Syngenta New Farming Technologies Lead, Harry Fordham.
Pioneering nozzle development of the 3D ninety has involved over three years R&D by Syngenta application specialists, with exhaustive laboratory testing, along with extensive field trials and on-farm evaluation.
3D ninety – Key features
- 90% drift reduction
- 55⁰ spray angle
- Integral snap cap
- Boom height flexibility
In field trials at the Syngenta Barton Black-grass Innovation Centre, the 3D ninety gave a 2.5 percentage point improvement in black-grass control, compared to conventional low drift nozzles – equating to over 150 plants per m2 in the trial plots. The 3D ninety also performed 9% better than the existing industry-standard grass weed application 3D nozzle at the recommended 200 l/ha.
“Growers can be fully confident of the product efficacy with the 3D ninety, along with all the operational advantages of low drift technology,” advised Mr Fordham. “Avoiding drift keeps all the product on target and in the crop, as well as mitigating the effects of wind gusts that can disrupt the spray pattern during application.
“The intention of the 3D ninety design is to achieve the most even distribution across the whole target area.”
He pointed out that drift reduction is also highly important for public perception of farmers’ spraying operations, as well as legislative demands to minimise environmental loss that could jeopardise future product registration.
The 3D ninety’s innovative design incorporates an integral SnapLock Cap with every nozzle, to facilitate easy fitting onto any sprayer. The 3D ninety is also fully compatible with the latest Pulse Width Modulation technology.
Precision manufactured by Pentair Hypro, the Syngenta 3D ninety will initially be available as an 05 size recommended for pre-emergence herbicide and blight spray applications. Further versions, covering a full a range of sizes, will be introduced through the autumn, to target post emergence herbicide and fungicide applications.
Science of nozzle design
As the company’s application specialist, Mr Fordham highlighted the 3D ninety has been engineered to eliminate virtually all the drift susceptible fine droplets, and deliver the maximum number of droplets possible to achieve the expected 90% drift reduction capability.
“The 3D ninety excels in its distribution of droplets to maintain consistent coverage on the target, that sets it apart from conventional low drift nozzles,” he reported.
One of the key complexities in the development process was to optimise the angle of spray to best deliver the nozzle’s specific droplet spectrum. Track spraying trials at Syngenta’s Application Research Laboratory, at Jealott’s Hill in Berkshire, were repeated hundreds of times, with thousands of samples analysed, to assess the impact of different angles on spray deposition on the target.
“With repeated fine tuning, the optimum angle of 55 degrees was shown to give the most consistent results for application to designated targets,” Mr Fordham advised. Even altering the angle in development by as little as 5 degrees, resulted in 31% greater spray deposition on the target, with 36% more on the back and 20% on the front to enhance all round coverage.
He pointed out that the 3D ninety is particularly well designed to produce an extremely consistent droplet size spectrum across a range of water volumes and operating pressures. Referred to as the coefficient of variation, it means that essentially where droplets produced are of more even size, it enables greater consistency in the targeting of the spray.
“That’s crucial when using 90% drift reduction technology for applications such as pre-emergence herbicides, blight fungicides or early cereal fungicides,” he added. Trials have been undertaken in cereals, potatoes and vegetable crops, to provide proven technical application advice in season.
