A Study Guide for the National Certificate in Aerial Application of Agrichemicals in New Zealand
SCOPE OF THIS MANUAL
HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL
Aerial Applicator Performance Objectives
1 Laws and Regulations for the Aerial Operator
1.1 Relevant CAA Rules and Regulations
1.2 Other legislation
1.2.1 The Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA)
1.2.2 Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO)
1.2.3 The Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act 1997 (ACVM)
1.2.4 The Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 (HSE)
1.2.5 Serious Harm
1.3 NZS 8409:2004 Management of Agrichemicals
1.3.1 Documentation
2 Pest Management
2.1 Aerial Application
2.2 Vegetation and Weeds
a) Weed Classification
b) Broadleaf Plants (Dicots)
c) Grasses (Monocots)
2.2.1 Herbicides
a) Selectivity
b) Mode of Action
c) Optimum Growth Stage
d) Residual Effectiveness -
2.2.2 Herbicide Application Considerations
a) The Shape and Surface Structure of Leaves
b) Weather
c) Age of the Weed.
d) Soil Type
e) Soil Moisture
f) Cultivation Status
2.3 Insect and Mite Pests
2.3.1 Insect and Mite Characteristics
2.3.2 Factors Affecting Insecticide and Miticide Effectiveness
a) Timing of Application
b) Resistance
c) Weather Conditions
d) Adjuvants
e) Mixing Water Quality
f) Spray Tank Contaminants
2.4 Plant disease organisms—the disease triangle
a) Fungi
b) Bacteria
2.4.1 Controlling Plant Diseases
3 The Product Label and Pesticide Safety
3.1 The Product Label
Priority Identifiers and Secondary Identifiers
Additional information
3.2 Priority Identifiers
3.3 Secondary Identifiers
HSNO Pictograms
3.4 Risk
Other hazardous properties
3.5 First Aid for Pesticide Exposure
3.5.1 Poisoning
a) Acute poisoning
b) Chronic poisoning
c) Pesticides on the Skin or Clothing
d) Pesticides in the Eyes
e) Inhaled Pesticides
f) Swallowed Pesticides
g) Cholinesterase testing
3.6 Protective Equipment and Clothing
3.6.1 Selecting PPE
a) Protective spray suit
b) Gloves
c) Cleaning and storage of protective clothing
d) Absorption Rate on the Human Body
e) Respirator filter life
3.7 Employee habits
a) Avoiding Use of Alcohol and Drugs
b) Staying Alert
c) Preventing Dehydration and Heat-Related Illness
3.8 Dealing with agrichemical emergencies
3.8.1 Agrichemical Leaks and Spills
a) Cleaning Up Agrichemical Leaks or Spills
3.8.2 Agrichemical Fires
3.8.3 Misapplication of agrichemicals
a) Incorrect Amount of Agrichemical Used
b) Applying the Wrong Agrichemical
c) Agrichemicals Applied to the Wrong Site or Crop
4 Safe Handling Techniques
4.1 Communicating with the ground crew
4.2 Transporting and storing agrichemicals
a) Transporting Agrichemicals
b) What is a Dangerous Good?
c) Purpose for carrying agrichemicals
d) How much may you carry?
4.2.1 General requirements for transporting all agrichemicals
4.2.2 Refuelling Containers and transporting fuels
4.3 Storing Agrichemicals
a) The physical features of the store
b) Location
c) Construction
d) Spill Containment
e) Security
4.3.1 Signs and Placards
a) Specific signage – HSNO Regulations
4.3.2 Managing the Store
a) Records
b) Containers
c) Segregation
d) Emergencies
e) Other equipment
4.3.3 Secondary Containment
4.4 Handling agrichemical containers
4.5 Mixing and loading
a) Personal Protective Equipment
b) Liquid Mixing and Loading Equipment
c) Closed Mixing Systems
d) Safety Features.
e) Dry Materials Loading Equipment
f) Equipment Maintenance and Inspection
g) Quality of the Mixing Water
h) Measuring Agrichemicals
i) Mixing Procedures
4.5.1 Cleaning equipment and containers
4.5.2 Disposal of diluted (mixed) agrichemical
5 Aerial Dispersal Systems
5.1 General requirements
5.2 Dispersal system components - liquids
5.2.1 Spray Pumps
5.2.2 Tanks and Hoppers
a) Agitation
b) Hoses
c) Valve
5.2.3 Spray Booms and Boom Couplings
5.2.4 Flow Meter and Pressure Gauge
5.2.5 Spray Nozzles
a) Droplet production
b) Cone pattern nozzles
c) Fan-Pattern Nozzles
d) Nozzle Anti-Drip Devices
e) Rotary Atomizers
f) Spraying System Operating Pressure
g) Electronic Sprayer Rate Controllers
5.3 Dispersal system components – solids
a) Ram-Air Spreader
b) Feed Rate
c) Spreader Vanes
d) Spreader Mounting
e) Application Rate and Swath
f) Centrifugal Spreader
6 Aerial Application Guidance Systems
6.1 Navigation methods
a) Global Positioning Systems
6.2 Differential GPS
a) Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)
b) Commercial DGPS Services
6.3 Using DGPS for Aerial Application
6.4 Computers, Spray Output Controllers, and Sensors
6.5 Smoke generators
7 Preparing for an Aerial Application
7.1 Understanding the recommendation or work order
a) Features and Limitations of the Aircraft
b) Pilot Qualifications
c) Scouting the Target Site
d) Agrichemical Label Restrictions
e) Local Regulations and Restrictions (Regional Plans)
f) Resolving Conflicts
7.2 Operations Plan
a) Plans for Managing Offsite Agrichemical Drift
b) Planning for Emergencies
7.3 Emergency Information
a) Flight Hazards
b) Plans In Case of Engine Failure
c) Application Equipment Malfunction
d) Ground Crew Emergencies
7.3.1 Overspray, Drift, and Other Misapplication
a) Spray or Dust Contacting Bystanders or Vehicles
b) Agrichemical Spillage
7.3.2 Agrichemical Spill Kit
8 Calibrating Aerial Application Equipment
8.1 Why calibration is essential
a) Effective Pest Control
b) Human Health Concerns
c) Environmental Concerns
d) Protecting Treated Plant Surfaces
e) Preventing Waste of Resources
8.1.1 Managing the Amount of Water Applied Per Hectare
8.2 Calibrating Liquid Sprayers
8.2.1 Tank Capacity
8.2.2 Application speed
8.2.3 Effective Swath Width
8.2.4 Flow Rate
8.2.5 Application Height
8.2.6 Determining the Per Hectare Application Rate
8.2.7 Determining the Amount of Agrichemical to Put into the Tank
a) Changing Sprayer Output
b) Changing Speed
c) Changing Output Pressure
d) Changing Nozzle Orifice Size
8.3 Pattern Testing a Spray Boom
8.3.1 Spray pattern problems
a) Leaks
b) Nozzle Problems
c) Incorrect Droplet Spectrum
d) Prop Wash Displacement.
e) Prop Wash
f) Wingtip Vortex.
Rotor Distortion.
8.4 Calibrating Granule Applicators
a) Application ground speed
b) Output Rate
c) Track spacing and swath width
8.4.2 Testing spread patterns
9 Aerial Application Technology
9.1 Checking the application site
9.1.1 Ferrying
9.2 What to watch for during an application
a) Weather
b) Hazards
c) Field workers
d) Service People and Others
e) First and Last Runs of the Day
9.3 Application methods
a) Application Speed
b) Altitude
c) Obstructions
9.3.1 Flight patterns
a) The Turnaround
9.3.2 Applying Granules
a) Airspeed
b) Application Height
9.3.3 Agrichemical Dust Applications
a) Flammability
b) Ignition Sources
c) Ground Operations Preparations
9.4 Factors influencing aircraft performance during application
a) Density altitude
9.5 Controlling offsite agrichemical drift
9.5.1 Minimizing Offsite Drift
9.5.2 Spray Mixture physical properties
9.5.3 Effect of Wind and Thermals on Drift and Offsite Movement
9.5.4 Temperature Inversions
9.6 Droplet Size
9.6.1 Classification of Droplet Size
9.6.2 Effects of Evaporation on Droplet Size
a) Co-distillation