In this week's episode we delve into the issues around filter and nozzle blockages. We pay particular attention to the problems that can arise when mixing various biological products and how to overcome them.
Fish-based organic fertiliser
Most commonly extracted using phosphoric acid. Phosphorus often reacts with soluble calcium to form insoluble calcium phosphate. Once this forms, it isn’t going anyway, no matter how much you rinse the system. So avoid calcium containing products when using fish-based fertiliser, or do a bucket test first.
The other issue with many organic fertilisers, including those based on fish, is that they are commonly suspensions, not soluble concentrates. As such, if left for a long period of time in the spray tank they may settle out and form a layer along the bottom of the tank. Therefore, do not store diluted product overnight. Storing diluted biologicals is also never advised because it will stimulate microbial growth and the additional problems that come from that if not precisely controlled.
Molasses-based organic fertilisers
When it comes to molasses it is the actual water you need to take care with. If you pour molasses quickly into very cold water it can sink to the bottom of the tank in one big solid lump! If that lump is sucked into a mixing pump it can cause a catastrophic failure. Therefore always add molasses slowly to any tank and agitate continuously. Alternatively, pre-dilute the molasses in some warm water before adding to the tank for further dilution to the spray concentration.
Seaweed extracts
Confirm the pH first. Some are acidic, some neutral, but more commonly they are alkaline. If alkaline, avoid any product that will lower the pH and bring the carbohydrate (alginic acid etc) solids out of solution.
Always avoid mixing with chitosan. As chitosan is acidic and cationic (seaweed extracts are anionic); any mix of these two will result in something with the appearance of vomit! If this doesn’t happen, you are using poor quality seaweed extract and/or chitosan solution.
Humic and fulvic acid
Humic acid solutions are very often moderately alkaline. So avoid any acidic product that will bring the pH down. If this happens you will get a thick tar coating your filters.
We have seen a few cases recently of issues when tank mixing with citric acid. This has happened because farmers are now hearing that the efficacy of glyphosate (Roundup) can be increased by lowering the pH with citric acid. They are also hearing that the efficacy of glyphosate can be increased by the inclusion of humic or fulvic acids. So they have applied all three products to the spray tank and blockages have occurred.
Chitosan
In addition to its use as a biostimulant and biofungicide, chitosan can also be used to remove contaminants from wastewater. Chitosan is used in waste water treatment because it binds to contaminants and takes them out of solution. So while removing bacteria, metal ions, and humic acid might be an advantage in that scenario, in a spray tank the opposite is true.
Chitosan can be tank mixed with a variety of conventional agrochemicals and biologicals, but you need to do your homework first, and always conduct a bucket test with the dilution ratios and water you plan on using. If you need a small sample to do a tank mix with, then please get in touch.
I always used to tell customers to never mix chitosan with silicon fertilisers, as these are alkaline and will also fall out of solution if mixed incorrectly. However, we have now developed a way of successfully tank mixing these products together by adjusting the pH of the solution after the addition of the silicon fertiliser. See our Fungicide Reduction Action Plan for more information.
Plant extracts
It really depends on the type of extract, the pH and the purification as to how these will tank mix. A single chemical extract will stand a far greater chance of tank mixing than a crude extract (such as a cold-press ‘juice’).
One example is yucca extract that contains natural soaps (saponins), these work best at pH above neutral. So if mixed with acidic co-applied products their efficacy may be diminished.
Amino acid biostimulants can also be derived from plant extracts (commonly from legumes). Other sources of amino acid biostimulants used in agriculture
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.