Nozzle Setup for Folicur Application

Farmers are nervously waiting for the rainy season to come to an end to see how their wheat has survived the week of cool rainy conditions. The time for applying a fungicide such as Folicur onto wheat is approaching quickly.

Folicur is a systemic protectant that interferes with fungal pathogens. Folicur has some local systemic activity within the wheat head but there is very little systemic activity plant to head and therefore good spray coverage to the wheat heads is essential to prevent Fusarium Head Blight.

Nozzle configurations for applying Folicur have been tested for the last six years. Many different nozzles and nozzle configurations have been evaluated to look at spray coverage on the wheat heads. Panoramic coverage on all sides of the wheat heads is critical to provide protection for the whole head against Fusarium Head Blight. Through the testing at Ridgetown College, two nozzle configurations have shown to offer the best spray coverage on all surfaces of wheat heads.

The nozzles tested fall into two main categories – THE BEST and THE REST. The nozzles in THE BEST category all spray the wheat heads horizontally from the front and the back. The nozzles in THE REST category have less of a horizontal spray orientation with spray directed more downward. Testing was expanded a few years ago to not only include nozzle configurations and orientation but also factor in travel speed. Until that time, the best information was that forward travel speed should not exceed 6 mph or 10 km/h to get good spray coverage on the back or leaving side of the wheat heads. All nozzle configurations were tested at 6 and 12 mph or 10 and 20 km/h. Results showed that travel speed was not as limiting a factor as had once been thought. The bottom line was that nozzles that performed well at low spraying speeds also performed well at high spraying speeds. Put in other terms, nozzles or nozzle configurations that gave good head coverage were consistent across both spraying speeds.

Figure 1. Alternating Turbo FloodJet nozzles Photo: David Hooker

Note: Drop nozzles are not needed for Folicur application in wheat.

THE Best- nozzles include the following two;
Double Nozzle Fwd & Back with Turbo TeeJet, Flat Fan, Air Induction Flat Fan
Turbo FloodJet Alternating Fwd & Back (20” spacing)

THE Rest- not ranked
TwinJet
TwinCap w. Turbo TeeJet, Flat Fan, Air Induction Flat Fan
Turbo TeeJet Duo w. TT
Single Flat Fan
FullJet Cone

Figure 2. Double Nozzles Forward & Back Photo: Andrew Dornan

The following graph, Spray Distribution on “Heads” vs Nozzle 2004 shows comparative levels of coverage with different nozzle configurations. The graph confirms that nozzles with a near horizontal spray attack angle provide the highest levels of wheat head coverage. Higher levels of head coverage should result in better FHB control.

Testing in 2005 looked at the effect of operating Folicur spray nozzles higher above the canopy than recommended. The level of spray coverage on wheat heads decreased with all nozzle configurations as the boom was operated further above the wheat heads. The ranking of the nozzles did not change as a result of this test with horizontally oriented nozzles providing the highest coverage. Key message here is to operate the nozzles as close as possible above the canopy following manufacturers’ recommendations.

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