SYNGENTA’S NEW Amistar potato nozzle is specifically designed not to block when applying the product to control blackdot, says the firm’s application specialist Tom Robinson.

At 0.8mm, the hole is double the size of the previous nozzle, he says. “It’s the biggest hole of any small nozzle.”

Blocked nozzles and product settling out in either the tank or larger pipework through insufficient agitation were issues for growers in 2004, he admits. “Although there were very few problems with TEAM machines.”

To help ease growers’ application problems Syngenta has issued new advice for 2005, including agitation of the tank every 10 minutes, small bore pipes for spray lines and advice on where to place filters.

“And don’t use nozzle filters as product builds up and causes blockages.” Instead, two 100 mesh wire filters should be placed either side of the pump in the circulation system, he advises.