Description of the measure

Two types of engineering are generally applied to reduce spray drift:

i.    Drift-reducing spray nozzle

On many types of sprayers, the standard nozzle types can be replaced with special drift-reducing spray nozzles which generally produce coarser spray droplets to reduce drift. The degree of drift reduction is dependent on the spray pressure.

ii.    Other drift-reducing equipment

Other drift-reducing techniques include lowering boom height or using boom sprayers equipped with air-assistance or spray deflectors/shields, such as band- or tunnel sprayers or the Wingssprayer^™.

Conditions for effective implementation

The equipment should be available to the user at an affordable cost.

Spray pressure should be controllable (for drift-reducing spray nozzles).

Estimated risk reduction potential

i.    Drift-reducing spray nozzles can achieve more than 95% drift reduction.

Note that the drift reducing effect of spray nozzles is strongly related to the used spray pressure, which therefore should be controllable.

ii.    Other drift reducing techniques can achieve more than 99% drift reduction, depending on the type of equipment and its use conditions.

Potential constraints

The use of drift-reducing spray nozzles has been reported to reduce the efficacy of the pesticide, but little evidence is available to support this.

Further information

Lists of drift reducing nozzles and equipment may be found on the following links: 

• United Kingdom: Spray Equipment that has received official recognition as having a LERAP-Low Drift Rating. 
• Germany: Drift reducing nozzles (click on: Verlustmindernde Geräte - Abdriftminderung) (lists are in German; nozzles are original names/types)
• The Netherlands: Drift reducing nozzles (click on: Driftarme spuitdoppen en technieken) (list is in Dutch; nozzles are original names/types)

Further information on pesticide risk reduction through drift-reducing techniques be found in the MAgPIE workshop report – Mitigating the risks of plant protection products in the environment. Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC)