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Title: Meteorological influences on mass accountability of aerially applied sprays

Author
item Fritz, Bradley - Brad
item Hoffmann, Wesley

Submitted to: Proceedings of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers International (ASABE)
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/10/2007
Publication Date: 12/10/2007
Citation: Fritz, B.K., Hoffmann, W.C. Meteorological influences on mass accountability of aerially applied sprays. Proceedings of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers International (ASABE). December 10, 2007, Reno, NV. Paper No. AA07-003.

Interpretive Summary: The transport and fate of aerially applied crop protection materials is impacted by a number of factors including equipment operational parameters, spray material characteristics, and meteorological effects. This work examines how meteorological influences impact the ultimate fate of applied spray materials. While there was no single meteorological factor that influenced the downwind transport of the spray treatments, generally lower relative humidity decreased the amount of material deposited downwind as well as reduced the total amount of spray material that was accounted for with a mass balance due to evaporative effects. Increasing wind speeds decreased both in-swath deposition and downwind depostion, but increased the amount of material that remained suspended in the air. Increases in atmospheric stability were only moderately correlated to the deposition and airborne spray movement at downwind distances greater than 40 m. While this data set covers a limited range of meteorological conditions, the trends hold from the standpoint of the system physics, and provide a further understanding of the relationships between spray fate and local meteorology.

Technical Abstract: The deposition and drift of aerially applied crop protection materials is influenced by a number of factors including equpment setup and operational parameters, spray material characteristics, and meteorological effects. This work examines the meteorological influences that effect the ultimate fate of applied spray materials. While no single meteorological factor dominated the downwind transport of the spray treatments, generally lower relative humidity decreased downwind deposition and the amount of spray unaccounted for due to evaporative effects and increasing wind speeds decreased both in-swath deposition and downwind deposition increasing the amount of material unaccounted. Increases in stability were only moderately correlated to downwind deposition and to flux measurements past 40 m. While this data set covers a limited range of meteorological condictions, the trends hold from the standpoint of the system physics, and provide a further understanding of the relationships between spray fate and local meteorology.