HERBICIDE AND APPLICATION TIMING
The optimal time for herbicide application is often accompanied by saturated soil and limited field access via ground machinery. When faced with such conditions, aerial application has proven to be a successful alternative for herbicide application.
However, field access in wet conditions is not the only benefit of herbicide aerial application. Some additional advantages that aerial application offers are:
- Aerial application can take place in a wider variety of conditions, which allows for a wider application window and a more precisely timed application
- Quicker application when timeliness is critical for pest control
- No crop damage, soil compaction or rutting that would otherwise occur from a ground rig
DRIFT MANAGEMENT
Drift management is always an important consideration when it comes to both ground and aerial application. This is especially the case when it comes to herbicide. We at Hendrickson Flying Service take great care to manage drift through:
- Use of rain drop spray nozzles, which produce a larger droplet that falls more quickly to the target plant
- Use of thickening agents, which make the droplets heavier and less susceptible to drift
- Use of surfactants, which make the plant more quickly absorb the product
- Closely monitoring wind before and during herbicide application
HFS AND DRIFTWATCH
Hendrickson Flying Service is also a registered member of Driftwatch.org, a tool to help protect pesticide sensitive habitats and crops in Illinois. We use the Driftwatch database in conjunction with our digital mapping system and our own self-maintained sensitive area database to ensure our neighbors and our customer’s neighbors are taken into consideration with every application.
