Choosing the right nozzle

The nozzle decides where the chemical ends up. Start with the job you're doing and we'll narrow it to the families worth considering.

Step 1

What are you spraying?

The job sets the droplet size. Get that right and everything else follows.

Reference

Spray quality, coarsest to finest

Every nozzle is rated for the droplet size it produces at a given pressure. Coarser means less drift but fewer droplets on the target; finer means better coverage but more risk of it moving off-target. Categories follow the ASABE S572.1 standard.

Pressure changes droplet size

The same nozzle gets finer as you lift the pressure. Chasing a higher rate by winding up the pressure will quietly move you into a drift-prone spray quality.

Match the droplet to the chemistry

Systemic products move within the plant, so coarse droplets work. Contact products only kill what they touch, so you need finer droplets and more of them.

Read the label first

Many labels now specify a minimum spray quality. That's a legal requirement, not a suggestion — and it overrides anything on this page.

Replace worn nozzles

A worn nozzle over-applies and loses pattern. Check output against a new one each season — if it's 10% over, it's costing you chemical every pass.

Not sure, or spraying something unusual?

Tell us the target, the chemistry and the conditions. We'd rather spend ten minutes on the phone than have you re-spray a paddock.