2,4-D question

[EddieWalker]

Years ago I went through the course to get my applicators license here in Texas. After getting it I was supposed to take a bunch of ongoing classes to get so many credits to keep it past five years. I didn't do any of this. I bought some 2,4-d and killed what I wanted, then didn't bother with it for years afterwards.

My pastures are becoming more weeds then grass, so we went to Lowes and bought some http://www.lowes.com/pd_92157-316-HG-95834_0+2z8vj__?productId=50065977&Ntt=spectracide&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dspectracide%26page%3D1&facetInfo=$5 - $10

From reading the label and instructions, it came out that four bottles of this mixed with 200 gallons of water would treat one acre. We did this and the results where fantastic. We did it four times on four acres, one acre at a time. I have a trailer with a 300 gallon tote on it with sprayers that I can pull with the Mule or the tractor. It's been great for spraying round up over my roads and big areas I want to kill off all the plants.

Can I increase the ratio of chemicals to water if I'm covering the same area. Lets say 50 gallons of water for four bottles of the Spectracide weed killer with 2,4-D in it over the same one acre? Wouldn't the amount of chemicals getting to the weeds be the same?

Or could I put 16 bottles of the Spectracide weed killer to 200 gallons and spray 4 acres?

Or why couldn't I increase it even more and go with 25 gallons per acre? I'm not sure how many gallons it will take to cover an acre one time, but that would be my ultimate goal. At $14 an acre of weed killer, this is a very affordable, easy to do way to fight weeds. I'm just trying to figure out how to do it in less time.

Thank you,
Eddie

 

[teg]

Do you know how many gallons per acre you are putting out? That will/should determine how much chemical to add to the tank mix. I try to use the least amount of water to spray an acre (in my case 12 gallons/acre) but you still have to get good coverage. Speed and pressure are what you'll be "playing"/adjusting with here.

But spray droplet size is also important, you don't want it too fine or it will drift into place you don't want, likewise to big of droplets; you'll be just adding extra gallons per acre that you don't need to.

There are several methods to determine how much volume you are putting out... but will wait to see if you know what you are putting out.

Edit: you should be able to treat 1.5 acres with 4 bottles (each cover 16,000 ft2) but you might be putting it out at a higher concentration (thus the "results where fantastic" comment).

Are you running the 300 gallons around the one acre until it is empty, then you repeat for the next acre? What type of sprayer are you using?

 

[EddieWalker]

The 16,000 square foot per bottle is rated on Bahia grass. For Bermuda, it's less coverage.

I don't know how much water per acre my sprayer will do, I've always done the calculation from the instructions on how much water and chemical per acre to use and then just going over and over it again until it's all gone. The results with this method have been fantastic, so I think I'm good with my sprayer nozzle size and pump.



I've changed the height of the sprayers since this picture was taken. I was hitting too many things with them down this low.

Eddie

 

[Gary Fowler]

You should have the bar high enough so that each nozzles spray pattern overlaps an inch of so. The more water you put on (to an extent), the better your results so that you get good wetting of the weeds. You would be better served to establish how much water per acre your rig is putting out. To do this, put in plain water and measure off a specific distance that is easy to figure sq footage. Put a container under one nozzle and at the same speed that you will be spraying, travel that distance and note the amount of water multiply by the number of nozzles and divide the area you sprayed in the the square footage in an acre to come up with the portion of an acre that you sprayed. Multiply the amount of water by the fraction of an acre to see how much water you put on an acre. Then adjust your chemical content accordingly.

 

[Western]

Eddie, I always had mine put out by the fertilizer dealer the 1st application of liquid fert each year. They used a die and foamer at the end of each boom, to cut down on over application, or missed spots. You may look into something like that and treat the whole tank. Double coverage takes away from your calculations.

As far as your mixture, I don't know, but you could find out from your local fertilizer place, more than you care to know.

 

[teg]

So basically, you are using 200 gallons per acre. That is very excessive (average range is 15-40 gpa) but as you noted, you have very good coverage (and thus results). To answer your question, Yes, you should be able to use less water, the amount of chemical will still be the same.

Actually, how many times do you think you go over the acre emptying the 200 gallons? Lets say if you run over it 4 times to empty it then you can easily cut back to 50 gallons per acre and use the 200 gallons to do the 4 acres (only going over it once). You have to put 16 bottles into the tank.

Edit; Reading the label: http://www.spectracide.com/~/media/...trateLABEL4781218845SEP13HG958343A32FLOZ.ashx

 

[4020deereboy]

In spraying field crops and pastures i set my sprayer to hit 20 gal. water/acre. Have even used tips to run 10 gal/acre with excellent results. I have a 25 gal. sprayer with a 30 ft. boomless nozzle i mount on my atv. I can calibrate it to hit 5 gal./acre and have excellent results spraying small pastures and such. I used 2wd based chem. + surfactant (water wetter) + sticker. Don't use oilbase sticker on brush only burns leaves off. Formula to use to calibrate sprayer is
GPA = GPMX5940 / by (MPH X W) W is effective spay width per nozzle

 

[teg]

....I'm not sure how many gallons it will take to cover an acre one time...

You do need to find this out... by my calculation you only need 3.63 bottles to cover an acre.

"...Measure amount of concentrate from chart below into sprayer tank and dilute with 1 gal of water.... to treat 250 sq ft." An acre is 43560 ft2/ 250 ft2 = 174.24 times ("...Bermuda @ 2/3 oz...") x 0.67 = 116.7 oz

116.7oz/ 32 oz bottles = 3.64 bottles / acre x 4 acres = 14.6 bottles total.

Spray one acre and see how much liquid you used... is the easiest way to figure out what's your gallons per acre will be.

 

[M E Race]

Spectracide is a very low concentrate designed for residential lawns. Your local Tractor Supply has a higher concentrate suitable for your pastures at a better price. Nozzle size and speed set your gpa. If you are in an area where soybeans, or worse, cotton is grown you must contact the growers before spraying. 2,4D is deadly for either crop and is notorious for drift. Here in La. a permit is required for application after crops are planted.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

As you should know, 2,4-D is volatile and doesn't stay put. It will evaporate and move along the ground in a dense cloud, killing plants far from the application spot. You would be liable for any damages.

Water application depends on foliage. Ideally, you want to wet the foliage without any spray hitting the ground. At that rate, you want to mix just enough chemical to do the job.

It sounds like you need to brush up on your studies, then do some inspections behind your sprayer, adjust water application rates, then get out your calculator and figure out what amount of chemical you should be mixing.