first post emerge app

[wiseguyslawn]

Got my new sprayer and plan on spot treating monday. It is a 200 gallon skid, and plan on spraying three way. I have heard adding quicksilver to the mix is worth the cost for a quick kill. My question is how many gallons per minute should i be spraying at. I going to apply aound 1.4 oz per 1,000. This is my first app with this type of sprayer and any advice would be great. Thanx

Robert

[greendoctor]

More info please. What kind of gun or wand is at the end of the skid sprayer? My preference for turf applications is a flat fan nozzle operated at 20-40 PSI measured at the gun and 1-2 gallons per M. Quicksilver can give very poor results if it is not applied with a surfactant and with the label suggested equipment and operating parameters. If Quicksilver is applied correctly, it fries most broadleaf weeds and helps the Threeway or Trimec work much better. For spot spraying, you still want a Teejet 8008 or 11008 flat fan operated at 40 PSI. If one pass over a weed is made, that will apply approximately 1 gallon per M. You also reduce the chances of overdosing the area being spot treated and being in violation of the label.

[RigglePLC]

Green made a good point. What nozzle do you plan to use? Myself, I would never do a spot spray with a flat fan nozzle. You would tend to get straight line burns, where you stop and start. If you waved the nozzle, you would get zig-zag burns. A solid cone nozzle might work. Spot spraying is a good bet with a backpack. Chemlawn gun is a better bet with spot spray. If you have a skid sprayer--why would you spot spray since it is less effective, and almost as much work as spraying overall?
Use about 1 gallon per thousand sq ft. 2 gallons also works fine. Be sure to calibrate carefully with water and time yourself with your usual walking speed, so you know how much area you cover per minute. 1500 sqft is typical.

[wiseguyslawn]

Some yards will need a blanket spray but most just need a spot spray to be more cost effective should I use different nozzles for each type of app. My main concern is the burning as you mentioned earlier should I reduce the rate since this will be my first app using this sprayer or possibly a tracker?

[wiseguyslawn]

The rate would have to vary if you were to use 1 gal per 1,000 vs. 2 gal per 1,000.?

[greendoctor]

Originally Posted by RigglePLC

Green made a good point. What nozzle do you plan to use? Myself, I would never do a spot spray with a flat fan nozzle. You would tend to get straight line burns, where you stop and start. If you waved the nozzle, you would get zig-zag burns. A solid cone nozzle might work. Spot spraying is a good bet with a backpack. Chemlawn gun is a better bet with spot spray. If you have a skid sprayer--why would you spot spray since it is less effective, and almost as much work as spraying overall?
Use about 1 gallon per thousand sq ft. 2 gallons also works fine. Be sure to calibrate carefully with water and time yourself with your usual walking speed, so you know how much area you cover per minute. 1500 sqft is typical.

I do spot sprays with a fan tip. However the application rate always equivalent to the broadcast rate for a whole lawn. For example, if I am applying 2 gallons per M with a multiple nozzle boom, I use the same size nozzle and the exact operating pressure at the end of a single nozzle wand. I make one pass over the weedy area. There are no burns or marks in the grass unless it is MSMA, but If I almost never spot MSMA, that is what a paint brush with glyphosate is for. To be honest, I do not spot spray lawns very often. One very knowledgeable sod grower told me that there are weeds that have not broken above the turf canopy yet. You do not see them if you are walking around only spraying the big weeds that are visble. But if you broadcast the whole lawn, even the weeds that are not immediately visible will be killed. Makes sense to me. If it is broadleaves that I am dealing with, I come out looking like a star by adding Gallery to the tank and ending the broadleaf weed parade for a year. With the label and local restrictions on the use of broadleaf herbicides, I rather not have to spot spray all the time. In my climate, that is what happens if you do not broadcast treat a lawn and add Gallery or simazine.