MagrowTec's Magnet Technology Enables More Efficient Spray Applications, Midwest Manager Says
Key Takeaways
- •MagrowTec's magnetic spray-conditioning system is claimed to greatly reduce spray drift, a growing concern tied to herbicides like dicamba and 2,4-D.
- •The technology produces 20 to 40% better coverage by generating more medium-sized droplets as water passes over magnets that cluster calcium carbonate.
- •The one-time bolt-on system can replace per-tank surfactants and drift-reducing agents while cutting water and chemistry use, according to Keppler.
- •The maintenance-free system can be retrofitted to any existing sprayer, appealing to growers upgrading equipment amid high costs.
- •MagrowTec, based in Ireland, uses the system in row-crop, specialty-crop, and vineyard applications across multiple countries.
Magnet technology is leading to more efficient chemical applications on the farm, according to Nathan Keppler, Midwest regional manager with MagrowTec, an Ireland-based company whose magnetic spray-conditioning systems are used in row-crop, specialty-crop, and vineyard applications in multiple countries.
Keppler says the company's magnetic conditioning system has been proven to greatly reduce spray drift. Drift reduction has become a pressing concern in row-crop agriculture in recent years, as off-target movement of herbicides — particularly dicamba and 2,4-D products used alongside herbicide-tolerant seed traits — has led to crop-damage complaints, restricted application windows, and label changes from regulators.
"So as the water flows over those magnets, the calcium carbonate starts to stick together, and as a result, that gives the water droplets something to coalesce around," he explains.
He says, "Think of it like we're cleaning up a lot of the fine droplets. We get 20 to 40% better coverage than you normally do just by producing so many more medium-sized droplets."
Keppler tells Brownfield the system allows applicators to achieve the same or better outcomes as using surfactants and drift-reducing agents, with a one-time bolt-on system. Adjuvants and drift-reduction agents are typically purchased on a per-tank, per-season basis, so a fixed retrofit represents a different cost structure for applicators weighing ongoing chemistry and water savings against upfront hardware expense.
"You're more efficient as far as more effective in what you're putting down, as well as you get deeper in the canopy, and therefore cut some water usage as well as some chemistry, and with the reduction in drift, you've got less drift claims as well," he says.
According to Keppler, the technology is maintenance-free and can be retrofitted to any existing sprayer — a selling point at a time when many growers are upgrading older sprayers rather than replacing them amid high equipment costs.
Brownfield spoke with Keppler at the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association's annual MAGIE show in Bloomington.
Source: Brownfield Ag News
