As farmers move towards spraying emerged paddocks for weeds and insects, it is extremely important to decontaminate booms thoroughly to avoid herbicide injury to your crop.
The cleaning process takes time and can involve a number of steps depending on the chemical application history of the boom.
The following table is a good guide to keep handy when decontaminating the boom spray.
Pesticide product used | Recommended cleaning agent/process |
Simazine, Atrazine, Trifluralin, Gylphosate, Gramoxone, Sprayseed, Hoegrass, Verdict, Diuron |
Water:
|
Glean, Logran, Ally Note: Problems with residues of these SUs (Sulfonylurea) can arise especially if you use a grass herbicide afterwards. The adjuvants in the grass herbicide appear to release the SU’s in hoses, filters and the wall linings of fibre glass tanks. |
Bleach/boom spray cleaner:
|
MCPA, Barrel, Dicamba, Tigrex, Buctril, 2,4D Amine |
Ammonia:
|
Lontrel, Broadstrike, Eclipse |
Detergent:
|
Remember to read the herbicide label and ask your consultant if you have any questions or concerns. For users of smart phones or tablets a good resource is the APVMA app. Download this app and you can have all your chemical labels at your fingertips. For the link, click here.