MEASUREMENT OF EVAPORATION FROM ADJUVANT SOLUTIONS USING A VOLUMETRIC METHOD

Various agricultural spray adjuvants are available which are classified as anti-evaporants. This quality has the potential to aid in reducing drift and chemical evaporation and so improving coverage. Numerous other adjuvants not claiming these benefits may have these characteristics which are not being exploited. In order to assess these qualities, a simple, rapid assay was devised for measuring relative evaporation rates from individual drops. This method was then used to measure the evaporation rates of a variety of adjuvants under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. The droplet producing device uses a microliter syringe to dispense a droplet of known size. After a given period of time, the drop is taken back into the syringe and the volume lost to evaporation calculated. Modifications to the original device include suspending the drop inside a temperature- and humidity-controlled chamber. The original device was used for determining the rate of evaporation from water drops later than 0.3 mm. We have extended the use of the device to measure the rates of evaporation from a range of adjuvant solutions under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. The data reported here suggest that this method (a) is suitable for measuring evaporation from drops of many (but not all) adjuvant formulations, (b) is capable of discerning differences in relative rates of evaporation and (c) may be used for an array of adjuvant, drop size, and meteorological conditions. Major limitations appear to be (1) equilibrium surface tension, solutions having values less than c.35 mN m-1 are difficult to analyze and (2) a lower limit on drop-size of c.300 mum.