Corteva Agrisciences has launched a new video to guide farmers on sprayer maintenance, as well as providing advice for when using products containing the Inatreq active.

A small number of users of Inatreq experienced issues with sprayers last year following the product’s use and Corteva is keen to get good sprayer hygiene and maintenance advice out to farmers to ensure these problems do not happen again.

The product is a new type of chemistry, recommended for use in disease control programmes, so its use is important in protecting fungicides that are there. However, good stewardship and sprayer maintenance is essential with its use.

Advice

In the video, independent consultant Tom Robinson advises farmers to completely empty the tank when spraying and to then clean the sprayer in the field.

He advises farmers to divide their sprayer rinse tank into three parts and to then rinse the sprayer three times.

He says spray mixes should not be left in the tank overnight, as they attack the internal components of the sprayer. He adds that if sprayers are cleaned out as soon as possible after spraying, they will last longer.

Listening to him talk at a recent briefing, he noted that residues stay in the sprayer after each rinse and that there will be residues in sprayers from the very first tank you spray. Therefore, good sprayer hygiene is essential.

You can watch the video at this link.

Advice when using Inatreq

Inatreq is a fungicide, so it won’t be used for another few months on farms.

Corteva advises farmers using Inatreq in 2023 to use the product in a minimum water volume of 200l/ha and the product should not be left in the tank overnight. The tank, pump and lines should all be washed through after a day’s spraying.

The active ingredient should not be used in sprayers equipped with pulse width modulation technology and it is recommended that pump diaphragms be replaced annually.