Tank mixing can provide savings in time and cost, but what do some of the leading experts in the industry recommend?
Frank Fielding investigates
he growing stigmatisation of pesticides by the European parliament, coupled with its firm focus on sustainability, has fostered what some say is an overly cautious attitude towards their application.
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In today’s compensation culture, the public sector, for example, is fearful of any repercussions following inappropriate application of pesticides, or other chemicals, on its sportsturf and amenity areas.
But, financial constraints on public and private sectors alike are also driving the search to deliver the most cost- effective solutions possible, and that can put pressure on contractors and other service providers to find ways to optimise the time they spend servicing sportsturf and amenity areas. Tight budgets and timescales can put
pressure on managers, departments or contractors to fast track spray application of chemicals by mixing them into a single tank or container. Contractors, chemicals manufacturers and suppliers are stepping up their campaign of awareness-building among buyers and end users, in a bid to ensure that neither health and safety nor efficacy is compromised in the current economic climate. Trials are underway to evaluate integrated vegetation management programmes (IVMPs) as one way to merge the application of a raft of substances, including wetting agents, fungicides and fertilisers. Results will enable programmes to be set up that clearly identify what chemicals can be applied from the same tank, and in what concentrations, to optimise disease resistance and nutritional input. If conducted correctly to the
Tank Mixing
appropriate guidance, tank mixing can enhance turf management and weed control programmes, saving time, money and waste, while in some instances boosting the effectiveness of each constituent. Yet the method is raising concerns among industry commentators, chemicals’ suppliers and end users about the need to highlight how important it is to follow guidance to the letter to avoid potential health hazards and damage to turf, machinery and equipment. Leading safety consultant, Jon Allbutt, for one believes the benefits of tank mixing are simply not being capitalised upon, especially in local authority markets. “Not enough is being done to promote its advantages. If it’s known that tank mixing can kill a particular weed more effectively than by using normal methods, it is an obvious choice,” he states.
“I would encourage groundstaff and
greenkeepers in private and public sectors to seriously look into tank mixing as an alternative to their normal methods.” But, the method certainly is no job for “amateurs”, he stresses, and should never be approached in a “casual” way, “but that should not deter people from doing it”. Tank mixing involves blending two or more pesticides or other chemicals in the
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