Important Points for Proper Sprayer Cleanout & Maintenance
Modern agriculture relies on pesticides for sustainable production of high-yielding crops. Most of these pesticide applications are made with the same sprayer. Thus, proper sprayer cleanout between pesticide applications to different crops must occur to avoid the risk of sprayer contamination that likely will cause crop injury.
Crop injury from sprayer tank contamination is one of the most common concerns related to the application of crop protection chemicals. For sensitive crops, or for herbicides that are active at very low use rates, leftover herbicide in a sprayer that was not properly cleaned will be especially damaging.
Below are links to articles that provide details about proper sprayer cleanout procedures.
10 tips to better manage your jugs, sprayer cleanout
Thoroughly clean your sprayer with this 8-step checklist
Sprayer Tank Cleanout: Managing Risks & The Proper Cleanout Procedure
Sprayer Cleanout Procedures: Protect Equipment and Crops
Sprayer Cleanout-Out Best Practices
Sprayer Cleanout by Herbicide [cleaning solution materials to use for shown herbicides]
Following are some important points that are gleaned from the above articles.
• Know the last pesticide that was applied by a particular sprayer, and the sensitivity to that pesticide of the next crop to be sprayed.
• Follow pesticide and commercial cleaner labels for specific sprayer cleanout instructions.
• Clean all sprayer parts–e.g. tank, spray boom, nozzles, boom end cap.
• Make sure the spray tank is empty when leaving a site of application.
• Clean the sprayer in an area that will not contaminate nearby water, crops, and animals.
• Use the correct tank cleaner since it may be pesticide-specific. Again, follow the label.
• Cleanout of the sprayer components [i.e. tank, spray boom, lines, nozzles, etc.] is especially important when switching from PRE to POST herbicides since many PRE herbicides will cause crop injury if they come in contact with a growing crop.
• Using the same sprayer to apply pesticides to multiple crops poses a great risk for cross contamination. Thus, when possible, dedicate different sprayers to a specific crop.
• Frequent rinsing of the sprayer system is a good way of preventing residue buildup. This is especially important when the system will be inactive overnight or longer.
• Spray any rinsate from a sprayer cleanout on the site where the pesticide application occurred.
• Do not let pesticide residues dry on spray tank walls or in the sprayer components.
• If possible, use a dedicated separate sprayer to apply auxin herbicides–e.g. dicamba, 2,4-D.
Following proper sprayer tank and components cleanout procedures will ensure the least risk for crop injury when using the same sprayer to apply multiple pesticides to multiple crops. Thus, it is imperative that proper steps are followed for this important task to be effective. And be mindful of this: an effective cleanout of any sprayer system will take a significant amount of time.
Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Aug. 2024, larryh91746@gmail.com