A Mobile Drift Risk Advisor for Oklahoma Producers
Agronomy & Pest Management
James Lee
Mesonet Ag Coordinator
OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
Norman
Abstract
The potential for herbicide drift occurs with every application, especially when using highly volatile products. To be good stewards of the environment and to stay in compliance with herbicide labels, drift reduction should be a primary concern and research has shown that temperature inversions play an important role in the determination of herbicide drift. Herbicide labels now clearly prohibit application during a temperature inversion; however, there often exists confusion in the determination of temperature inversion existence. To assist Oklahomans with this process, the Oklahoma Mesonet has a new mobile friendly tool, The Drift Risk Advisor, which utilizes the 120 Mesonet towers across the state to get the weather information necessary for herbicide applications with limited drift. Each Mesonet tower contains temperature sensors at 1.5 and 9 meters, which reports on the temperature inversion between these two heights. The Drift Risk Advisor allows users to display current weather conditions, including inversion data, wind speed, temperature, humidity, and solar radiation every 5 minutes or, hourly forecast obtained by the National Weather Service up to eighty-four-hours future. Additionally, the tool quickly provides access to past Mesonet weather data necessary for pesticide record keeping. Since development, The Drift Risk Advisor has been demonstrated to commercial and private pesticide applicators across the state during multiple farm show and commodity association events. Adaptation of The Drift Risk Advisor is possible by other Mesonet capable states to potentially reduce off target herbicide drift significantly.
Authors: James Lee
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James Lee Mesonet Ag Coordinator, Oklahoma OAEAA, Oklahoma, 73072