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Agriculture
Volume 15
Issue 20
10.3390/agriculture15202115
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Bio-Efficiency of Foliar Herbicides Applied with Drift-Reducing Nozzles

by
Sander De Ryck
1,*,
Eline Van Hecke
1,
Ingrid Zwertvaegher
2,
David Nuyttens
2,
Jan Vanwijnsberghe
3,
Tewodros Andargie Zewdie
4,
Pieter Verboven
4,
Mattie De Meester
1 and
Benny De Cauwer
1
1
Weed Science Unit, Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University (UGent), 9000 Ghent, Belgium
2
Technology and Food Science Unit, Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), 9820 Merelbeke-Melle, Belgium
3
INAGRO, 8800 Rumbeke-Beitem, Belgium
4
BIOSYST-MeBioS, Department of Biosystems, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), 3000 Leuven, Belgium
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Agriculture 2025, 15(20), 2115; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15202115 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 5 September 2025 / Revised: 9 October 2025 / Accepted: 10 October 2025 / Published: 11 October 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Agricultural Technology)
Versions Notes

Abstract

The increasing implementation of drift-reduction regulations in agriculture has driven the widespread adoption of drift-reducing spray nozzles. However, concerns remain about their impact on the biological efficacy of foliar-applied herbicides, particularly at early weed growth stages. This study evaluated the bio-efficiency of various drift-reducing flat-fan nozzles across three weed species (Chenopodium album, Solanum nigrum, and Echinochloa crus-galli), two growth stages, and six herbicides differing in mode of action and formulation properties. Dose–response bioassays were conducted using eight nozzle–pressure combinations under controlled greenhouse conditions. Spray characteristics, including droplet size distribution, coverage, contact angle, and surface tension, were quantified to elucidate interactions affecting herbicide efficacy. The results showed that nozzle effects were more pronounced for high-surface-tension formulations and poorly wettable weed targets. Several coarser droplet drift-reducing nozzles (e.g., ID3, APTJ) showed inferior performance in controlling small C. album and S. nigrum targets with bentazon and erectophile E. crus-galli targets with cycloxydim. At the same time, nozzle choice was less critical for tembotrione and nicosulfuron spray solutions, which have low surface tension. Across weed species, growth stages, and herbicides, nozzles producing finer, slower droplets demonstrated superior and more consistent performance compared to those producing larger, faster droplets. These findings offer science-based guidance for selecting nozzle types that balance drift mitigation with effective weed control under current and future regulatory constraints.
Keywords: droplet size spectrum; spray coverage; contact herbicide; systemic herbicide; contact angle; surface tension droplet size spectrum; spray coverage; contact herbicide; systemic herbicide; contact angle; surface tension

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MDPI and ACS Style

De Ryck, S.; Van Hecke, E.; Zwertvaegher, I.; Nuyttens, D.; Vanwijnsberghe, J.; Zewdie, T.A.; Verboven, P.; De Meester, M.; De Cauwer, B. Bio-Efficiency of Foliar Herbicides Applied with Drift-Reducing Nozzles. Agriculture 2025, 15, 2115. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15202115

AMA Style

De Ryck S, Van Hecke E, Zwertvaegher I, Nuyttens D, Vanwijnsberghe J, Zewdie TA, Verboven P, De Meester M, De Cauwer B. Bio-Efficiency of Foliar Herbicides Applied with Drift-Reducing Nozzles. Agriculture. 2025; 15(20):2115. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15202115

Chicago/Turabian Style

De Ryck, Sander, Eline Van Hecke, Ingrid Zwertvaegher, David Nuyttens, Jan Vanwijnsberghe, Tewodros Andargie Zewdie, Pieter Verboven, Mattie De Meester, and Benny De Cauwer. 2025. "Bio-Efficiency of Foliar Herbicides Applied with Drift-Reducing Nozzles" Agriculture 15, no. 20: 2115. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15202115

APA Style

De Ryck, S., Van Hecke, E., Zwertvaegher, I., Nuyttens, D., Vanwijnsberghe, J., Zewdie, T. A., Verboven, P., De Meester, M., & De Cauwer, B. (2025). Bio-Efficiency of Foliar Herbicides Applied with Drift-Reducing Nozzles. Agriculture, 15(20), 2115. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15202115

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