Identify the crop or situation and the problem observed. A weed patch, insects under leaves and a disease risk in a dense canopy do not present the same target. The product label sets the crop or situation, application limits and protection conditions.
For an application in Great Britain, Article 55(2) includes compliance with the authorised conditions specified on the labelling within proper use.
A herbicide, fungicide or insecticide describes a crop-protection purpose. The formulation describes the prepared product, while the application method describes how it reaches the target. Liquid, powder and granular preparations combine active substances with other ingredients.
For a liquid spray, equipment is chosen for the intended method after assessing operator exposure and environmental risks.
Reduced-volume spraying uses less water than the label's minimum recommended volume for the dose. Smaller droplets and a more concentrated mixture can increase exposure risks.
Nozzle choice, pressure, speed, boom height and equipment condition influence drift.
For dusts, granules, pellets and baits, assess dust exposure, loading equipment, spills and non-target animals.
For fogs, mists and smokes, assess breathing exposure and movement beyond the treatment space.
Fumigation is a specialised task: nobody should carry it out without proper training, and it has to be planned so that the fumigant does not spread beyond the area to be treated.
Plan the treatment order so the operator and equipment avoid newly treated ground.
Air assistance, hydraulic nozzles, rotary atomisers and contact applicators deliver material differently.
Air assistance uses forced air to carry droplets towards a target. Broadcast air-assisted equipment directs the moving spray upwards and outwards, whereas downward-placement equipment uses an air stream directed into the crop.
A hydraulic nozzle breaks liquid into droplets as it passes through the device. An air-inclusion nozzle incorporates an air inlet into that process. In a deflector nozzle, a liquid jet strikes an angled surface to produce a fan-shaped pattern.
A weed wiper or wick applicator transfers pesticide by direct contact with an impregnated absorbent surface. The contact surface may be a wick, pad or roller, so a herbicide sponge applicator or a wicking herbicide applicator is a contact applicator of this kind.
A handheld applicator is carried by the person or has an outlet directly supported by the user. A pedestrian-controlled machine instead has a supporting carriage controlled by someone walking. A small tank does not identify either category.
Forestry herbicide application
Forestry pesticide work includes both application and handling pretreated saplings. Hand-held equipment is used for many forestry applications.
A forestry decision record can identify the compartment, assessor and reasons alternative methods are unsuitable. The decision-sheet format dates from 2004.
Apply pesticides correctly: filling precautions
Keep the filling point away from watercourses, ditches and drains. Never use an empty food or drink container to hold pesticide.
Check application equipment before work. Never suck or blow a nozzle by mouth. Stay with the sprayer while filling and prevent overflow.
Agricultural drone sprayer, farm spray drone and drone crop sprayers: permissions before the equipment
As of 30 October 2026, there are no commercial authorisations for pesticide application by drone in the UK. A limited number of Extrapolated Trials Permits cover named applicants or their agents, restricted areas and specified conditions. Buying a spraying drone does not supply those permissions, whether it is sold as a sprayer drone for farming, a spraying drone for agriculture or a drone crop sprayer. The same permission package, set out below, applies to every drone application, including drone spot spraying with an agricultural spraying drone.
The required permission package
Each drone application must also be referenced in an Aerial Spraying Permit. Provide the supporting product authorisation or trial permit, operator qualifications, CAA flight application and authorisation, drift-reduction technology, and maps or grid references.
An approved Application Plan and permission for the specific operation are required. Use HSE's spraying-application template and allow at least one month for consultation with conservation agencies when spraying is in or close to a conservation area. No aerial-spraying permit fee is currently charged.
Keep your spray records in one place. Free to start.
Professional herbicide sprayers and the treatment boundary
Band application of herbicide treats only strips, for example along the crop row, while broadcast application covers the whole area. Choose equipment suited to the method you intend and use the nozzle guide for the output check.
A herbicide for woody vegetation needs a label that lists the crop or situation; the product register guide leads to it.
Insecticide mist blower and pesticide mist blower: identify the formulation and delivery method
A pesticide blower that delivers a mist falls under the checks for fogs and mists above, and one that delivers a dust under the checks for dusts.
Dust equipment, sold as a pesticide dust applicator, an insecticide powder applicator, an insecticide powder blower or a powder sprayer for insecticides, falls under the checks for dusts. A granular herbicide applicator (a spreader for granules) falls under the checks for granules: assess dust exposure, loading equipment, spills and non-target animals.
For a bellows duster or an insecticide dust blower, apply the dust only in suitable conditions and avoid breathing it in. When you clean dust equipment, do not use air lines if you can avoid it and brush carefully so the dust does not reach the air.
Herbicide wand applicator, pesticide injection system and ultra low volume pesticide application
A herbicide wand applicator or spot weed killer applicator, a pesticide dispenser, an insecticide or tree injection system, foliar spray herbicide application and ultra low volume pesticide application are all methods, not products. You may use a method other than the one the label recommends only if the equipment suits that method, your COSHH assessment and your assessment of wildlife and the environment show no increased risk, and control measures are in place; this does not apply where the label legally requires a specific type of equipment. Do not use reduced-volume spraying where the label bans it (for example with a minimum application volume), requires PPE at the ready-for-use dilution, or carries 'corrosive', 'very toxic', 'toxic' or 'risk of serious damage to eyes'; in those cases cut the volume only if you cut the dose of product in the same proportion. Write the method into the treatment record next to the product, so that the choice can be shown later.
Closed transfer systems for pesticides: loading without open pouring
Use a compatible closed-transfer and measuring connection to move pesticide from a small-volume returnable container or intermediate bulk container directly into application equipment. A container with its own transfer device needs the matching connection. Do not substitute incompatible couplings, discharge an IBC by gravity or decant bulk pesticide into smaller packages. A closed system describes how a product is moved into the tank. Whether a product containing a given substance, paraquat for example, is authorised for your use is shown by the product register guide.
Large containers need their specified handling and agitation arrangements. Do not shake large containers before use (the label gives guidance on how to stir or re-circulate the product) and do not lift containers above shoulder height. Use a low-level filling arrangement.
Closed transfer and handling systems are a containment measure in a COSHH assessment, so the loading task belongs in the risk assessment. Report any fault with engineering controls or PPE.
Container return and rinsing need their own route. A returnable package that is not intended for rinsing must not be treated like an ordinary washable can. Do not rinse packaging that held gassing powders. After using an induction bowl or filling device, restore valves to the correct position so stopping the pump cannot send tank contents back out through the bowl.
Closed-transfer technology can reduce chemical contact while introducing manual-handling problems with bulky containers.
Use the spill response guide for escaped product and the tank-mix checks for the loading order of mixtures.
Next step
See the HSE register guide, the sprayer guide and the nozzle setup.