A new 035 size for the Hypro GuardianAIR Twin range will be shown for the first time at Cereals 2013. The versatile drift-reducing nozzle with the finest droplets offers growers a unique balance between good spray coverage and drift reduction, with a spray quality that is ideal for the majority of spring and summer spraying targets.
The new 035 size, which joins an existing range of five sizes from 025 to 08, is ideally suited to applying 100 litres/ha at 16 kph with 3 bar pressure – a set up commonly used with the single inclined spray version of the GuardianAIR.
The GuardianAIR Twin has a single air mixing chamber but two outlets generating low-drift spray jets inclined forward and backward by 30 degrees.
This inclined two-spray configuration is particularly suited to taller targets with thick canopies that can be difficult to penetrate, such as maturing oilseed rape and potatoes, and tall, vertical plants such as maize. The two jets can also help achieve even spray distribution on uneven seed beds for pre-drilling sprays.
“Independent test results published in the HGCA Nozzle Selection Chart show that the GuardianAIR Twin produces the smallest droplet size of any air-inclusion nozzle,” points out Roger James, Hypro product manager. “At 3 bar pressure, the nozzle’s spray characteristics are so similar to a ‘medium’ spray from a conventional flat fan tip that it can be used for all except the smallest spray targets.”
When conditions for spraying are not perfect, drift can be reduced by more than half by dropping the pressure to 2 bar to increase the droplet size. That will usually be enough to allow spraying when it would otherwise not be possible.
The GuardianAIR Twin’s drift reducing performance gives it a 2 star (50-75%) LERAPs rating in the UK; this classification was recently backed up Germany’s leading spray nozzle testing body, the Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI) of the Federal agriculture ministry, where the existing nozzle sizes have been approved for drift reduction at the 50% level; the new 035 is expected to achieve the same classification.
Being an all-in-one assembly, the GuardianAIR Twin is more convenient to use than fitting separate tips into a dual outlet cap. Its two outlets are no smaller than those of a single nozzle of the same size – which minimises the risk of blockage – and it can be used with or without a tip filter depending on user preference and the chemicals used.
It is the first Hypro nozzle designed with a new all-in-one FastCap, which has a unique smooth-turning bayonet fitting action. This design has been further refined to include a cover that gives added protection to the outlets from contact with crop foliage or dust and debris thrown up by the tractor or sprayer.
