Before starting this process it is important to have the following materials available:

• product labels and your adviser’s recommendations;

• a manufacturer’s nozzle chart for orifice size, pressure and flow rate;

• a spray quality chart for the nozzles you may be considering;

• a calculator;

• a summary of the formula required for calculations (see page 6);

• a blank spray plan template (see page 7); and

• access to online tools for assessing or adjusting buffer-zone distances.

Useful formulas and terms

Width, in the formulas below, can refer to

• nozzle spacing (metres) for broadcast/boom spraying;

• spray width (m) for band spraying or boomless spraying;

• spray width (m) for band spraying divided by the number of nozzles; and

• row spacing (m) divided by the number of nozzles per row for directed spraying.

Note

These examples refer to litres per sprayed hectare (L/ha).

Litres per hectare = L/min/nozzle x 600 / speed (kilometres/hour) / width (m)

Litres per minute per nozzle = L/ha x width (m) x speed (km/h) / 600

Speed (km/h) = L/min/nozzle x 600 / L/ha / speed (km/h)

Nozzle spray width (m) = L/min/nozzle x 600 / L/ha / speed (km/h)

Total flow rate through boom (L/min) = L/min/nozzle x number of nozzles used.