The cost of chemicals is rising and environmental regulations are tightening, so wastage is just not an option. with conventional sprayers a significant proportion of the spray does not reach its target crop, which causes run-off, drift, and wasted inputs.
This is why the team at Vantage New Zealand is eager to install MagrowTec on as many sprayers as possible.
MagrowTec is a magnetic assist conditioning technology that improves spray coverage by more than 20 percent while reducing drift by up to 70 percent. This allows farmers to use inputs more efficiently, significantly reducing their costs and environmental impact.
MagrowTec won the 2021 Sustainable Scaleup Award in the Thrive Bayer Sustainability Challenge for its commitment to more sustainable food production. This award recognises businesses that are implementing systems that reduce the environmental impact of crop protection and improve water management.
Spray quality can help maximise profits on farm. When it comes to chemical application, size does matter. The single most crucial factor in spray performance is droplet size.
The droplets in conventional sprayers are often either too small or too large. If they are too small, they float longer and can evaporate or drift away from the target. Too large, and they hit the plant at a higher speed, so they bounce, shatter, and run-off. This reduces retention on the leaf and the chemical’s performance.
MagrowTec creates more of the optimum-sized spray droplets during spraying. These droplets are neither too big nor too small and they ensure more of the spray is applied to the weeds, crop canopy, buds, flowers, stalk, fruit, vegetable or soil.
It produces spray droplets that have sufficient momentum to overcome drift and get down to the plant canopy but are also small enough to stay on the plant surface upon impact. This can have a significant impact on your bottom line.
The MagrowTec system is a hardware system that is fitted onto the sprayer to condition the fluid as it passes from the tank to the nozzle. With only two main components, it can be attached to any new or existing sprayer and works with multiple nozzles.
There are no moving parts, and it doesn’t need a power supply, so maintenance is minimal.
MagrowTec in NZ
Studies have been conducted on MagrowTec on farms across the globe. These include potato farms in the Netherlands, canola and wheat crops in Canada, and seed vegetable crops in Australia.
Recently a water-sensitive paper study was conducted in New Zealand to assess the spray coverage of a sprayer fitted with the MagrowTec system compared to a conventional sprayer in two canopy positions critical to the agronomy of late blight (Phytophthora infestans) and powdery mildew (Solanum tuberosum) in potatoes.
The trial looked at the coverage in the upper and lower canopy. Depending on the type of crop being sprayed, the lower canopy can be particularly challenging to target with the delivery of plant protection products.
MagrowTec’s system showed the highest increase in coverage within the lower crop canopy compared to the conventional option. It also achieved the highest level of spray coverage in the upper canopy.
Overall, the MagrowTec system achieved spray coverage of 30.3 percent compared to the conventional option, which achieved 22.6 percent. Within the lower canopy, the system achieved a mean coverage of 34 percent, an improvement in spray coverage versus the conventional option, which achieved 23 percent.
As the portfolio of chemical products available is reduced year on year, it is more important than ever to ensure farmers and contractors use the most efficient spray practises. You can rest assured that MagrowTec will help you do more with less.
To find out how you can start your journey with MagrowTec, visit our webpage.