Recent advances in biotechnology have resulted in crops that are tolerant to the synthetic auxin 2,4-D, expanding the weed management versatility of this herbicide. With potential expansions of use, concerns have been raised about the increased risk of herbicide drift, leading to damage to nontarget crops. A field-scale study was conducted with the objective to measure drift deposition and the potential for drift reduction conferred by a proprietary pre-mixture formulation of 2,4-D choline salt plus glyphosate dimethylammonium salt compared to an in-tank mixture of 2,4-D dimethylamine salt plus glyphosate potassium salt. Treatments were made with field-scale spray equipment under typical application conditions in McCook, NE, using three widely used nozzle tips. Deposition was captured in triplicate downwind collector lines and assayed for tracer dye and 2,4-D. In comparison to the in-tank mixture, the pre-mixture formulation exhibited lower downwind depositions when applied through a flat-fan (TeeJet Extended Range; XR) and air induction (TeeJet Air Induction Extended Range; AIXR) nozzles, but not with a pre-orifice (TeeJet TurboTeeJet Induction; TTI) nozzle. Based upon median deposition at 30 m downwind, the pre-mixture formulation reduced drift by 62% and 91%, for the XR and AIXR nozzles, respectively. From a drift reduction perspective, the pre-mixture formulation performance with the AIXR nozzle was equivalent to a much coarser TTI nozzle while still offering sufficient foliar coverage for acceptable weed control.

Drift reduction technologies aim to eliminate the smaller droplets that occur with some sprays because these small droplets can move off-target in the wind. Commonly used drift reduction technologies such as air-induction nozzles and spray additives impact on reducing off-target movement is well documented, however, the impact on herbicide penetration into an established crop canopy is not well known. This experiment evaluated the canopy penetration and efficacy of glyphosate treatments applied using four nozzle types (XR11005, AIXR11005, AITTJ11005, and TTI11005), two carrier volume rates (94 and 187 L ha-1), and glyphosate applications with and without a commercial drift reducing adjuvant. Applications were made to corn and soybean fields using glyphosate applied at 1.26 kg ae ha-1 with liquid ammonium sulfate at 5% v/v. A rhodamine dye was added (0.025% v/v) to the spray tank of each mixture as a tracer. MylarTM cards were placed in the field above the canopy, in the middle canopy, and on the ground for corn and above and below canopy for soybean. Five cards were at each position in the canopy arranged across the crop row. The addition of a drift reducing adjuvant did not impact canopy penetration. Doubling the carrier volume increased the amount of penetration proportionally and as such the percent reduction was not different. The TTI11005 nozzle had the greatest amount of spray penetration (28%) in the soybean canopies and the XR nozzle had the greatest amount (50%) in the corn canopies. Deposition across the row, beginning in-between the row crop and ending in the row of the crop was 44, 18, and 8% for soybean and 59, 50, and 36% for corn. For both crops, more than half of the herbicide application was captured in the crop canopy. Proper nozzle selection for canopy type can increase herbicide penetration and increasing the carrier volume will increase penetration proportionally.