VIEWPOINT
Croda: The Future is Now - Driving
Spray Quality and Drift Testing
Capability Forward
Initial Public Disclosure
On May 21, 2015, Croda issued a
press release entitled “Croda Installs
Wind Tunnel for Development of Spray
Drift Reduction Technologies that Meet
Customer Needs.” In it we offered
first insights into our new Low Speed
Wind Tunnel (LSWT) for agricultural
spray analysis. We announced then
that the facility, which has now been
operational for over a year, would be a
core enabler in our spray drift research
platform. We also announced plans for a
comprehensive validation program, which
was later presented publicly at the recent
International Society for Agrochemical
Adjuvants (ISAA) Symposium held in
Monterey, California, in May 2016, the
results of which were published in the
associated ISAA Symposium Proceedings.
At the time I was quoted as having
said, “Our low speed wind tunnel gives
us the testing capability to characterize
agricultural spray quality according to
established industry protocol, as well
as other techniques. This capability will
enable us to conduct research into the
mechanisms of drift reduction to minimize
off-target movement and develop reliable
spray drift reduction technologies
10 2017 Formulation & Adjuvant Technology
relevant to our customers’ needs.” It is
gratifying to report that the goals for this
program have been met and that in many
cases we have been able to surpass
our own expectations of what we could
test, measure, and demonstrate. The
capabilities originally planned have been
supplemented with other techniques that
increase the breadth and depth of data we
can collect on spray mixture. It is useful
to look at the history of this program prior
to our 2015 announcement, as well as
reflect on more recent insights, to perhaps
share our experience with the community
interested in assessing agricultural spray
quality and its control through spray
mixture modification, whether for efficacy
or compliance.
Fast Forward
The field of spray quality modification
and drift control has become increasingly
interesting with the appearance of new
materials, both polymers and small
molecules, claiming Drift Reduction
Technology (DRT) effects and proposing
new mechanisms for droplet size control
such as vesicle formation in select
surface active materials. The observable
increase in activity around measurement
By Gregory Lindner
Research Director at Croda
techniques and materials applied to spray
quality control and drift reduction includes
new engineering options such as nozzle
designs, pulse width modulation of spray
liquid, the use of various accessories
(shields, hoods, etc.), and spray mixture
property modification by additives. The use
of these techniques to minimize buffer zones
and maximize product uses while increasing
stewardship through the minimization of off-
target movement has been the predominant
driver for the development and use of
DRT. For pesticides under pressure due
to mammalian or environmental toxicity,
access to registration and to specific label
claims has driven pesticide formulation
development toward systems delivering
spray quality modifiers in the formulated
pesticide.
In North America, the introduction
of multiple herbicide tolerance traits for
different mixtures containing highly potent
active ingredients has accelerated the
process and contributed significantly
to the spiking demand for a range of
functional materials that can be used
both in spray mixtures and increasingly
in formulated pesticides. This creates the
demand for materials that offer greater
ease of formulation and additional benefits
over many of the materials used for this
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