Filling the Sprayer

Reduce risks when adding plant protection products

• Add plant protection products to the sprayer in the field so that you:
  • avoid using the same spot every time you handle concentrated chemicals
  • benefit from an active soil breakdown of minor spills
  • avoid any risks from transporting a full tank of spray solution
• Carry the plant protection products in safe lockers on the sprayer. It must be possible to catch any spills from the containers.

Water filling

When filling the sprayer with water, avoid any risk of over flow or return to the water source. Make certain that no spillage could end up in drains, wells, ditches or surface water unless the filling takes place on a special concrete area with efficient drainage to a safe container.

In practice, it is safest to fill the sprayer from a separate water tank. If you must fill directly from a shared water supply make sure the end of the filling hose is kept at least 10 cm above the sprayer filling hole.

The sprayer must not be left unattended while filling.

Sprayer filling must not take place anywhere near wells or drills – please check your local regulations.

To minimise the impact of small spillages or dripping, water filling should preferably take place in the field. Otherwise, an area covered with grass is better than stones or gravel. The safest alternative is to carry out the filling under a roof and with drainage to a separate tank.

Agrochemical filling

Adding the plant protection products should also be done at varied places in the field.

Otherwise, filling should be done on a concrete area where any spills can be picked up using special absorbent granules. If this is not possible then fill over a dedicated grass area that can help contain and degrade spilled chemical.

Transporting concentrated chemicals between the farm buildings and fields must be done safely and in compliance with local rules.

Generally, products should be carried in a locked box where any spills will be contained. Carrying a shovel and plastic sack is a wise precaution, as they can be used to pick up any concentrated chemical that gets spilled or dropped.

The sprayer pump should be left off while transporting the sprayer from farm to field – to ensure the system is not under pressure.

Empty agrochemical containers must be rinsed with either the rinsing nozzle in the chemical filler or with three lots of clean water. In both cases it is important to move the container to make sure the rinsing is fully efficient.

If using a rinsing nozzle, the time must be adjusted to suit the container size and a final rinse with clean water will ensure the container is as clean as can be. The rinsing water must be added to the main spray solution.

Rinsed containers need to be stored securely until they can be disposed of properly.