Blog
Sep 17

Tank-Mixing Tips to Increase Your ROI

By Tom Valentine & Duncan Stewart-Orris

Tom Valentine is an Aquatrols Territory Manager who serves the Northeast area of the United States.

Duncan Stewart-Orris is an Aquatrols Terriotry Manager who serves the Southeast area of the United States.


There are some excellent active ingredients and plant nutritional products in our industry, but if they can’t make it to the intended target, it results in the negative trifecta – losing time, money, and plant health!

Manufacturers spend millions developing their products and putting them through rigorous randomized testing. The results are sometimes measured with the assumption that the specific ingredients entered the plant. However, if soils are preventing these products from entering the root zone evenly, you can expect less than optimum results.

Surfactants don’t alter or improve chemical compounds; they just get them into places they couldn’t reach before. We are specifically talking about “soil-targeted or root absorbed” products, not necessarily foliar products (although there is some activity there as well). These plant nutrients, or chemical control products “take a ride” with surfactant molecules within the tank mix to their intended targets.

Soil variability is often the reason why some areas of a golf course seem to respond better than others despite having applied at  identical rates. Surfactants are like the gatekeepers that allow products to move into areas, and in the case of products like Revolution, keep the active ingredients in place for longer periods of time which results in maximum performance.

Here are two proven examples you should consider: 

Include Dispatch Sprayable in every tank for large acreage applications. 

Examples include fairway sprays with primo, foliar fertility, insect control or pre-emergent herbicide. Our research data shows that Dispatch adds 20% to the efficacy of applications due to better coverage, dispersion and infiltration; which delivers the active ingredient in the target application zone more uniformly. 

Add Revolution for fungicides or nematicides targeting soil borne pathogens and pests.

Active ingredients designed to control diseases/pests like fairy ring, Fusarium, Pythium, Rhizoctonia, spring dead spot, Anthracnose and nematodes are excellent candidates to tank mix with Revolution increasing control by up to 20%.

It’s that simple. Surfactants in your tank always deliver great ROI. Talk to your local Aquatrols rep to find out what’s right for your course.

Stewardship Message from Aquatrols: Sprayer Cleanout

  • Rinse and fill tank 1/3 full of clean water and agitate/recirculate for several minutes
  • Drain the tank as completely as possible by spraying out dilute rinsates* onto turf areas using best application practices
  • Remove the nozzles, screens, strainers and boom end caps and clean separately in a bucket containing cleaning agent and water
  • Reattach fittings, add 1/3 tank volume with clean water and spray out rinsates again onto suitable turf area
  • Special Note: rinse solutions can contain chemical residues that can cause injury to non-target and sensitive areas.

(*Rinsates should always be sprayed out onto turf areas.)

Aquatrols

About The Author

More than 60 years ago, Aquatrols introduced the world’s first commercially available soil wetting agent. Since creating an entirely new product category to address water management challenges and opportunities, the company has remained a top innovator and producer of high-performance soil surfactants and related technologies. Aquatrols’ advanced product suite optimizes soil-water-plant interactions in agricultural, professional turfgrass, and horticultural industries in more than 40 countries. Headquartered in southern New Jersey, Aquatrols also has offices in the United Kingdom and conducts business on six continents.