For more information see the NebGuide Spray Boom Set-up on Field Sprayers” (G2091) or the 2018 Guide for Weed, Disease, and Insect Management in Nebraska (EC130). There are more places for herbicide particles or residues to bind with a dry boom setup.

Dry booms with their hose and nozzle assemblies are more subject to be contaminated compared to stainless steel tubing or pipe. Stainless steel wet booms with end caps are easier to clean and flush than dry booms. This would be a significant problem with PGR residues.Īpplicators need to make sure that tanks, including the boom assembly, are cleaned. If the next sprayer load is Roundup or Liberty herbicide, the surfactants from those products can act like a powerful tank cleaner, reacting with plant growth regulator (PGR) residues and creating a byproduct that can injure sensitive crops (e.g., non-dicamba tolerant soybeans).įigure 1 shows herbicide residue buildup at the end cap on a row crop sprayer that had not been properly cleaned multiple times. Furthermore, herbicides can form deposits in the sprayer tank, screens, filters, nozzles, at the end caps or within other portions of the plumbing system. It is not possible to remove all of the dicamba or 2,4-D residues from a sprayer with only water. In addition, the expected introduction of new seed traits (e.g., Balance Bean/GT®, MGI) will continue to make sprayer system cleanout an important management focus in order to reduce potential for injury of subsequent crops. With the expected increase in use of plant growth regulators such as dicamba-based products (XtendiMax®, Engenia®, and FeXapan®) and the recent addition of 2,4-D choline as part of Enlist technology, sprayer cleanout will be more important than ever before.

Herbicide residue buildup at the end cap on a row crop sprayer that had not been properly cleaned for multiple times.

Tricky test 2 mix the chemicals