With more than 500,000 hectares of cotton expected to be planted for the 2016-17 season, Cotton Australia’s annual campaign to prevent off-target spray drift is in full swing.
At least 60,000 hectares of cotton was damaged last season, affecting more than 20 per cent of the nation’s crop. The damage bill faced by cotton growers was estimated to be more than $20 million.
While recent rains have been beneficial for cotton growers, it has also brought the added danger of off-target spray drift from other crops and fallow spraying.
Cotton Australia’s annual awareness campaign urges all farmers, no matter what crop they are growing, to be mindful of weather conditions and to check CottonMap to identify nearby cotton farms before applying weed control.
Each season, an average of 96pc of the planted area is mapped since 2009-10. CottonMap is a joint collaboration between Cotton Australia, the Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC), the Grains RDC and Nufarm.
The campaign is multi-faceted, and key components include radio ads and other media campaigns to raise awareness, distributing point of sale information to chemical resellers, meeting with agronomists, contractors and applicators to drive best practice and briefing federal and state regulators on Group I related spray impacts on cotton.
Additionally, Cotton Australia collaborates with other industries (including the grains and pulses sectors) to prevent spray drift occurrences and raise awareness of best practice.
On the research front, Cotton Australia’s Grower Advisory Panels have previously supported spray drift projects as part of the CRDC’s investment portfolio.
Research supported by the Grower Advisory Panels commenced in mid-2016 to identify and model inversion events to develop an inversion alert tool for growers.
All of Cotton Australia’s efforts are aimed at raising awareness of the potential damage Group I herbicides can do to cotton and promoting practices that all farmers can implement to avoid spray drift.
We are hopeful that our efforts will reduce adverse incidents and damage in the 2016-17 cotton season.
The checklist:
Farmers should use this four-point checklist when preparing to spray, particularly Group I herbicides such as 2,4-D:
Know what to do:
- Read and follow label instructions – it is a legal requirement.
- Ensure spray applicators are fully trained and accredited.
Check conditions before spraying:
- Monitor conditions before, during and after spraying.
- Do not spray when there is a surface temperature inversion – strongest between midnight and sunrise – or when wind speeds are very low.
Consider your neighbours:
- Check www.CottonMap.com.au for cotton fields that could be impacted by drift – spray droplets can travel further than 20km.
- Notify your neighbours of your spray plan.
Adjust spray equipment:
- Select nozzles that produce coarse or large droplets and use them in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.
- Minimise boom height when spraying and slow down – high speeds significantly increase potential for drift.