Know your water pH and hardness especially when using Procidic.

Not all Water is Created Equal!!

For spraying many herbicides and for all insecticides and fungicides you should know your water pH and adjust it to get greatest efficacy. For most insecticides or fungicides efficacy is improved if the pH of the spray solution is 5.5 or less. When using Procidic it is vitally important that you acidify your spray water to 5.5 or lower before adding Procidic. When using Procidic at planting in-furrow it is also important to lower the pH of the solution you are using before adding the Procidic. Many herbicides perform better if the pH of the spray solution is dropped. This is especially true with glyphosate. You cannot lower the pH far enough with using ammonium sulfate alone. Be aware that a lower pH solution when spraying dicamba may cause more potential volatility even though the activity of the herbicide may be improved.

Many “well water” sources have pHs that are above 7 and may be 8 or higher. Hardness of water can also affect performance and should be checked. Hardness is measured either as ppm, mg/L or grains per gallon. PPM and mg/L are the same number. One grain per gallon is equivalent to 17 ppm for comparison. Water is considered moderately hard if it exceeds 50 ppm or 3 grains per gallon. Hardness measures the amount of Calcium Carbonate or Magnesium Carbonate in the water. pH on the other hand measures the concentration of Hydrogen ions in the water. As you can see these are two different measurements, but somewhat related.

If you need more information on how to lower the pH or to condition your water please contact us.

If you need a pH meter or strips for measuring water hardness feel free to email us at andrea@soilsolutions.net or call us to order. Likewise, if you have questions about this subject, give us a call at 712-433-0000.