Second Season Sprayer Shuffle By Bill Casady

As herbicide applications taper off to nothing, it is usually appropriate to start thinking about putting sprayers away for the season. That usually means that we perform a thorough cleaning procedure and do some preventive maintenance to keep the sprayer in optimum operating condition and to prevent crop injury from left over residues the next time we take the sprayer to the field.

The potential need for a second spraying season is still high in our minds in our first year of "certain uncertainty" about how Asian Rust will affect Missouri now that it has moved to the southern U.S. coast and is knocking on the doorsteps of our southern neighbors. As the weed offensive dies down and we have the opportunity to take the sprayer apart for a thorough cleaning and maintenance, take this opportunity, also, to equip and calibrate the sprayer for fungicide applications for Asian Rust.

Cleaning field sprayers to avoid crop injury should be a season-long practice, but thorough cleaning also provides an excellent opportunity for upgrading and updating spraying equipment for the changing demands brought about by the potential for Asian Rust. A clean and well-maintained sprayer provides a better environment for calibration and ensures that we will, indeed, achieve optimum performance when we may need it most - for fungicide applications.

Take a moment to review some "Simple Tips to Combat Asian Rust" at http://agebb.missouri.edu/mgt/soyrust/spraytips.htm as well as MU publication G4852, Cleaning Field Sprayers to Avoid Crop Injury at http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/crops/g04852.htm. Always take precautions for personal safety by reducing exposure to crop protection materials with "Personal Protective Equipment for Working with Pesticides" available as MU publication G1917 and online at http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/agengin/g01917.htm.

For basic information on cleaning herbicide residues from sprayers see the "Condensed Guide for Cleaning and Storing Field Sprayers" in this issue. Be professional, be prepared, and be safe.

Bill Casady
573- 882-4370