Describes the main types of manually-operated or manually-carried pesticide application equipment. Gives details of design and shows the type of nozzle needed to treat crops and to improve the safety and efficiency of the spraying operation.

The FAO minimum requirements in this publication are based on existing international, European and national standards and other published references. The guidelines provide a practical aid to assist purchasing and other agencies to avoid buying or approving sprayers with quality and design limitations, which could compromise operator and environmental safety. Member countries should adopt them immediately, to begin to eliminate substandard and unsafe sprayers from national markets and ultimately from the international scene.

Sprayers. Equipment for generating aerosols, smokes and vapours. Dusters. Agricultural aircraft. Miscellaneous pesticides-application equipment. Fundamentals of pesticide application. Formulations for concentrate and ULV sprayings. Pesticide drift and its control. Measurement of efficacay of pesticide application. Selection of a sprayer/duster and planning pesticide application. Operation and maintenance of pesticide-application equipment. Faults with common pesticide-application equipment and their remedies. Safety precautions in pesticides application. Pest-control appliances other than pesticide-application equipment.

This publication contains revised FAO minimum requirements for safety and quality standards for agricultural pesticide sprayers, based on existing international, European and national standards and other published references. These guidelines seek to assist the elimination of substandard and unsafe sprayers from national markets and ultimately from the international scene.