Articles
Expert insights on spraying precisely, safely and effectively from Dave Young's 40+ years in the industry.
How to select a nozzle for spot spraying with SpraySpotter.app
Choose the right nozzle for optical and autonomous spot spraying using SpraySpotter.app, covering spray pattern, tip angle, height and spray quality.
Dave Young
4 October 2026
How to select a nozzle for broad acre field spraying with sprayspotter.app
Choose the right nozzle for pressure-regulated, PWM and three-tier boom sprayers with SpraySpotter.app, using rate, spray quality, pressure and duty cycle.
Dave Young
4 October 2026
ARAG CFLD-XC40 v Agrotop SF40 - Spot the difference.
Both are narrow-angle, low-drift spot nozzles. This comparison explains why measured target-zone distribution—not fan angle alone—is central to the nozzle decision.
Dave Young
29 September 2026
ExactApply Auto Select (Non‑PWM vs PWM) for 80–100 L/ha
Non-PWM vs PWM Auto Select on John Deere ExactApply, and why I think fixed pulsing often does the job at typical broadacre rates of 80 to 100 L/ha.
Dave Young
19 March 2026
Absolutely the Easiest Spot-Spray App on the Planet!
Meet Spray-Spotter, my fast web app for farmers who need a spot-spray nozzle answer in the paddock. No downloads, just the right nozzle in seconds.
Dave Young
12 October 2025
Planning ahead for summer spot-spraying with 2,4-D labels
Which 2,4-D labels are approved for optical spot spraying (OSST), and how to pick compliant CFLD-XC40 spot-spray nozzle sizes before summer arrives.
Dave Young
28 September 2025
Maximise Your Spray Runs with Smarter Nozzles for Single Spot Spraying Operations
Stretch every tank further on your legacy WEED-IT. ARAG CFLD-XC40 tapered spot-spray nozzles put more chemical on the weed and less on bare ground.
Dave Young
25 September 2025
PWFM Tapered Fan vs Even Fan Nozzles: Rometron WEED-IT Robot Swarm Sprayers Analysis
Tapered fan on PWM vs a half-size even fan at full flow on a WEED-IT Quadro robot sprayer. Which puts more spray on the weed in single-spot work?
Dave Young
17 September 2025
ARAG Flowtron and Carbon BeeIntegration: Revolutionising Spot Spraying
ARAG Flowtron and Carbon Bee control the duty cycle of each nozzle, fixing under-dosing and over-dosing when switching between side safety and single spot.
Dave Young
24 June 2025
The THREE rates you need to know about for Single Spot spraying
Single-spot spraying brings three different rates per hectare into play: spray width, target zone and overlapping. Here's what each one means for you.
Dave Young
21 June 2025
WEED-IT, just when you thought you were off the hook - Part 11.
A vintage WEED-IT owner asked if two nozzles firing together means double the rate. We updated our app to answer him properly, and the answer is yes.
Dave Young
7 March 2025
CASE Dealers installing CARBON BEE, please listen up about the danger of using standard 110° nozzles with incorrect settings - Part 10.
Case dealers installing Carbon BEE: the spray width in the configuration must match the nozzles left on the boom. Why standard 110° nozzles need care.
Dave Young
5 March 2025
Comparing nozzle angles and spray widths for Carbon BEE system configuration - Part 10a.
Comparing 110°, 80° and 60° spray widths for Carbon BEE setups, and why we only recommend 60° or 80° nozzles on 50 cm spacings for single spot.
Dave Young
5 March 2025
BATCH-IT App, tying everything together with elegance and accuracy - Part 9.
BATCH-IT is our batching and reporting app for single-spot jobs. Enter paddock size and weed cover, and it works out your water, chemical and wetter.
Dave Young
4 March 2025
Providing WHAT IS MISSING from JD's See & Spray Nozzle Pocket Guide? - Part 8.
Our See & Spray app shows single-spot and overlapping nozzle rates on the same page, filling the gap in John Deere's See & Spray Nozzle Pocket Guide.
Dave Young
3 March 2025
What's missing from JD's See & Spray Nozzle Pocket Guide? - Part 7.
My review of John Deere's See & Spray Nozzle Pocket Guide: how its band width tables set nozzle flow for single-spot spraying, and what's missing.
Dave Young
1 March 2025
Raising the curtain on the spraying part of spot spraying...figuring out controller rates - Part 6.
Strapping a camera onto your boom doesn't make it a single-spot sprayer. Here's how to work out the right controller rates for isolated nozzles.
Dave Young
20 February 2025
The problem with Camera / Spot sprayers that nobody wants to talk about - Part 5.
Not all spot sprayers are the same. I sort them into three groups by how the rate controller and nozzles work, with a correction on WeedSeeker 2.
Dave Young
9 February 2025
The problem with Camera / Spot sprayers that nobody wants to talk about - Part 4.
Almost every single-spot camera system in Australia calibrates on blanket rates, not spot rates. Unless you run a WEED-IT Quadro, you may be under-dosing.
Dave Young
7 February 2025
The problem with Camera / Spot sprayers that nobody wants to talk about - Part 3.
Can your spray rate controller actually be calibrated for single-spot spraying? How the WEED-IT Quadro handles spot rates and what other systems need.
Dave Young
2 February 2025
The problem with Camera / Spot sprayers that nobody wants to talk about - Part 2.
When adjacent nozzles fire together in single-spot mode, the rate between them roughly doubles. What that means on sprayers set up by nozzle spacing.
Dave Young
28 January 2025
The problem with Camera / Spot sprayers that nobody wants to talk about - Part 1.
Switch a camera spot sprayer from side safety to single spot and your application rate can drop by about half. Why the rate controller won't tell you.
Dave Young
23 January 2025
OSST label rate compliance.
My Q&A with Gary Dorr of the APVMA on calculating label rates and choosing nozzles for optical spot spraying (OSST), including the target zone method.
Dave Young
14 March 2024
110° nozzles on spot-sprayers - Really?
Should you run 110° nozzles on a camera spot sprayer? At 70 cm a 110° nozzle sprays two metres wide, wasting chemical on the edges of every activation.
Dave Young
22 December 2023
Why COARSE sprays work!
Can C rated air-induction nozzles deliver when the label or agronomist asks for Medium? Why coarse sprays still work and stay compliant at 60 to 70 L/ha.
Dave Young
22 December 2023
Dave on Optical Spot Sprayer Nozzles
Tapered fan vs banding (even spray) nozzles for optical spot sprayers, with real-world advice and Q&A with Tom Wolf on choosing spot-spray nozzles.
Dave Young
22 December 2023
Dave’s Concise Pulse Width Modulation Guide
PWM put simply: how pulse width modulated sprayers use frequency and duty cycle instead of pressure to hold a constant rate, and what it means for nozzles.
Dave Young
22 December 2023
Dave’s Concise Fungicide Spraying Guide
Timing matters most with fungicides. The nozzles I pick for canopy penetration and head diseases, and when the nozzles already on your boom will do.
Dave Young
22 December 2023
Dave’s Concise Spray Drift Management Guide
My short take on spray drift: how boom height, nozzle choice and speed decide where your spray ends up, and how to still do a decent spray job.
Dave Young
22 December 2023
Dave’s Concise Stubble Spraying Guide
My short guide to spraying in standing stubble: cutting spray caught on stubble, the shadow effect behind it and wheel track problems, by nozzle and speed.
Dave Young
22 December 2023
Determining Sprayed Width for L/ha Applications
Measure the real sprayed width of single-spot nozzles in the field to work out L/ha when the label gives no spot rate, using WSP cards and a formula.
Dave Young
22 December 2023
Duty Cycle Apps and Spray Calculators
How duty cycle spray calculators work for PWM and PWFM sprayers, the duty cycles I suggest for spot and general spraying, and how our apps do it.
Dave Young
22 December 2023
Eliminating Weeds in Wheel Tracks
Sprayer wheels push small droplets out of the wheel tracks and stir up dust. Why a coarse twin-fan nozzle behind each wheel stops weeds in their tracks.
Dave Young
22 December 2023
Explaining the Spray Quality Standard ASABE S572.1
Why droplet sizes differ between manufacturers' spray quality tables: ASABE S572.1 is a comparative standard that rates nozzles against reference nozzles.
Dave Young
22 December 2023
PWM v Air Induction for Drift Management & Coverage
PWM or air induction for drift control? How pulse width modulation holds pressure constant with duty cycle, and what that means for drift and coverage.
Dave Young
22 December 2023
Practical Guide to 2,4-D Spray Quality Compliance
Meeting the 2,4-D label's Very Coarse minimum spray quality: what the rules require, the ASABE S572.1 standard, and sensible nozzle choices to comply.
Dave Young
22 December 2023
Penetrating Stubble - The Stubble Jet Story
A customer's request for narrower air-induction nozzles in stubble led to the Stubble Jet: 95° CFAT nozzles angled backwards to beat stubble shadowing.
Dave Young
22 December 2023