Night spraying: pesticide efficacy with nighttime application
Project lead:
Ken Coles, Manager, Farming Smarter
Start Date: April 2012
End Date: December 2015
Alberta Barley’s contribution: $6,000
Partners:
- Alberta Barley
- Alberta Canola Producers Commission
- Agriculture Opportunity Fund
- Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Total funding from other partners: $174,000
Summary:
The project aims to determine if applying herbicides at night is a practical
option for farmers; to generate unbiased data on the efficacy of and tolerance
of night application of herbicides, and to uncover possible issues or complications
associated with night spraying. So far, the best herbicide results have come
from daytime spraying for pre-seed burndown and the best fungicide results on
barley have come from early-morning spraying. The project could expand to
include insecticide applications.
Benefits for farmers:
Night spraying may provide a feasible alternative to poor daytime conditions
and could potentially improve efficacy due to greater absorption. Night
spraying may provide farmers with the option to cover the same acres in a
shorter period or to cover more acres with the same equipment.