- Organic, biodegradable terpenic polymer.
- Use at the rate of one ml to every litre
of spray.
- Takes about one & half hours to dry under
normal drying conditions
- Just add to spray solution when mixing and
agitate well
- Raingard is not only a rainproofer..It is a sticker and spreader as well, plus it will make weed killer sprays work and kill better.
- Especially beneficial for contact sprays such
as copper spray.
- Use with any sprays when rain is likely
- Raingard will save you money and time.
- In cold weather place the Raingard bottle into a mug of hot water prior to use. It will flow better..
*Raingard is the trade name of Key Industries Ltd Auckland
GIVES RAIN PROTECTION
FOR 14 DAYS.
MAKING YOUR GARDEN SPRAYS MORE EFFECTIVE
By Wally Richards
A question that many gardeners ponder is how good a job are they and their garden sprays doing to
combat the problem that the spray is been used for?
Often it is not easy to determine how effective the sprays are without doing controlled tests but it is easy
to see in many cases that the results that were expected did not come up to expectations.
Weeds didn’t die, pests and diseases remain and often get worse over the following days.
There are several reasons why sprays haven’t performed in the manner that we expect of them.
The first of these is using the wrong spray for the particular job.
This is a common occurrence and firstly
one should check that the label on the spray bottle states that it is designed to control the particular
problem. For instance some insecticides will control a certain range of insects but may not include the one
that it is been used for.
This also applies to weed killers and fungicides.
Many garden sprays will control a larger range than is stated on the container but because these other uses
have not either been proved or registered with the Pesticides Board they cannot be shown on the label.
Another problem that occurs frequently is after a spray has been mixed and used there is still spray left
over in the container. Instead of carefully disposing of the residual, gardeners tend to store this already
mixed solution for future use.
This is a bad policy as many sprays when mixed will slump over a period of
time reducing their effectiveness.
Also if these are left in the plastic holding tank of the sprayer, the
chemicals are absorbed into the plastic of the container and this can cause chemical reactions when the
container is used for other sprays. Systemic weed killers can leave a residue that will damage tender
plants if the same container is used for other spray applications such as pest control.
It is always advisable to have one spray unit for weeds and another for other uses. Both containers should
be clearly marked accordingly.
Incorrect mixing can also be a factor in the effectiveness of a spray’s activity.
The directions on the label should be followed to the letter as they are designed to give the optimum
results. If the instructions also include information that a given amount of spray should be used over a
given area (this is found on some weed killers) then it is important that the area be measured and the right
amount of spray material applied.
If two different sprays are to be mixed and used together then they should not be placed into the spray unit
at full strength as a chemical reaction and occur. It is safer to place the given amount of water into the
unit, add the required amount of the first chemical, agitate then add the second chemical. Agitate again
before use. Many home sprays are compatible with the major exception been Lime Sulphur.
The correct amount of spray should be applied to the foliage of the plant, in most cases this is to the point
where the spray material is starting to drip off the foliage.
Some sprays need to be applied when the foliage is already moist and the information on the label should
indicate this factor.
Otherwise the foliage should be dry or near dry prior to application as the extra moisture may dilute the
spray further and reduce the effectiveness.
Likewise, rain and humidity after application can wash away or reduce the spray’s effectiveness.
To overcome this a rainproofer should be used in the spray mix.
It is interesting to note that some spray stickers will actually assist the rain in washing off the spray
particles to a greater degree than if no sticker additive had been used.
Spraying oils may help give a better coverage but can also reduce the effectiveness of the chemical and
reduce the results.
The writer has found that copper sprays used in winter for disease control of problems such as Bladder
Plum, Brown rot and Black spot have a far better protection factor against the diseases if spraying oil is
not included in the copper mix. The oils which are used for control of scale and mites can be applied
separately at another time if these problems are known to exist.
There are two basic types of sprays in use; Contact sprays, which do not enter the foliage of the plant but
sit on the foliage, protecting or controlling the problem that they are been used for. These sprays
effectiveness is reduced by rain and weather.
Systemic sprays on the other hand enter the foliage of the plant and in most cases are transferred through
part or the whole plant to protect and control from within the plant. These spray are less affected by
weather and rain but in some plants such as shiny or hairy leafed plants the chemical may have difficulties
in entering the plant’s cell structure.
Commercial spray operators have a solution to both these problems by adding a rainproofer, spreader and
sticker called Raingard. The same product not only ensures the effectiveness of contact sprays by giving
14 days rain protection but also acts as a chemical bridge for systemic sprays assisting in their penetration
into the plants foliage.
The first obvious advantage of the product, at this time of the year, when copper sprays are applied to
roses and fruit trees is that the copper is going to be there doing its job for up to 14 days whether in rains
or not.
This assists in overcoming those critical periods such as bud burst etc.
Raingard increases the effectiveness of all garden sprays and as it is made from Pine tree resin it is
completely organic and can be used to great advantage by organically minded gardeners in their
application of all organic sprays.
Raingard is currently available to home gardeners from many garden centres through out New Zealand.
To top of page.
NEW SPRAY PROTECTOR RAINGARD
After you have spent time and money, diligently spraying your gardens
for weeds, insects and fungus diseases the worst thing that can happen
is to have a shower of rain or your spouse turning on the sprinkler
system a short time later.
All your work and money has been washed away.
I would wager that these problems have happened to every gardener
reading this column. So what do commercial spraying contractors do to overcome
this problem?
They can be spraying hundreds of dollars worth of solutions and there is
no way they want to see their efforts and money go down the drain.
Their answer is to add to the spray mix a small amount of a product
called Raingard (Trade name of Key Industries Ltd, Auckland).
Raingard has been used commercially in N.Z. for 7 years and the product
has proved its worth time and time again.
Imported from America, Raingard is a biodegradable terpenic polymer,
totally organic and safe to use. A product that is actually Pine tree resin
based. Unfortunately, Raingard has only been available to the commercial
market and the home gardener has not being able to enjoy its many advantages.
That is up to now as your local garden centres are now stocking the
product in 100 mil bottles.
A very economical product as you only need to put 1 ml of Raingard into
each one litre of garden spray.
This gives 14 days rain protection once the Raingard has dried.
Normal drying period is about one and a half hours. After this you can
hit the sprayed areas with a hose and you will not wash off your spray.
This is especially important when using contact sprays as they are normally
washed away with the first reasonable amount of rain.
Organic sprays are all contact types, copper is a good example, Raingard
will put a film over the garden spray and over the next 14 days the spray
particles will be slowly released, protecting your plants.
You will be able to sit back and watch the rain coming down knowing
that your efforts are not wasted. Raingard can be used with systemic sprays
if rain is threating.
The writer has used the product for several years and can testify to its
effectiveness.
Wally Richards To top of this page.
MAKE YOUR WEED KILLER SPRAYS MORE EFFECTIVE
I have often been asked by gardeners why their weed spraying is not as effective
as they expected.
Whilst there could be several reasons for this, the most likely is the weed
killer's ability to penetrate into the foliage of the weeds being sprayed.
Many of the weed killers we use have to enter the foliage of the plant to have a
successful kill.
If for some reason this does not happen then the plant may not receive a dose of
the killer spray sufficient to kill the weed.
Thus we may see no result at all or a partial dying off of the weeds only to
discover a few weeks later that they have rejuvenated and are growing away happy
as ever. This is a most frustrating turn of events as the gardener has not only
lost the time taken to do the spray but has also lost the money spent on the
weed killer.
The reason that the plant has not absorbed the spray can be that the outer skin
of the foliage is too tough to penetrate and this is often found in the case of
such plants as Ivy. Foliage may also be waxy or hairy and sprays tend to bounce
off, rather than stick and wet.
Another aspect can be the break down or dilution of the spray either caused by
moisture, rain or watering.
For weed killers to be most effective and do the job that they are designed to
do, they must be applied at the correct rates, over the given area, as
prescribed on the bottle's label. They also should be applied so there is
complete coverage of the foliage and then the foliage has to accept the chemical
into the leaf structure. When the above factors are not met then we find only a
partial kill and need to repeat the spraying again.
Information has recently come to hand from the U.S.A. which included some trials
that were completed to find out how terpenic polymers would effect the results
of weed killers on plants.
The trials concluded that the terpenic polymers doubled the phyto-toxicity of
the weed killers used. In other words the weed killer was twice as effective
with the addition of the polymer.
The reason for this is the chemical particles are wrapped into a film of polymer
which melds with the waxy leaf surface forming a chemical bridge over which
herbicides move directly into the plant's tissue. This is also more effective
than the use of some "penetrants" which tend to destroy the leaf's surface
structure and thus forming a barrier for the translocation of the weed killer.
Another interesting aspect is; when using a terpenic polymer, there is a
reduction in spray drift thus reducing the danger of preferred plants being
affected by minute air borne particles of spray.
There is a terpenic polymer available to the home gardener through many garden
centres in New Zealand and its called "Raingard".
I have being using Raingard with Roundup for several years and have always had
excellent kill results. Several other gardeners using either Roundup or other
weed killers have also reported back excellent results when they have added
Raingard to the spray mix. One case involved half a paddock with Raingard added
and the other half without. The 'with' half had a total kill, where the
'without' had to be repeated as there was only a partial kill.
Thus we find Raingard as not only a rainproofer, sticker and spreader but a
bridge that greatly assists the effectiveness of your spraying. It can be used
with all weed killers and all other sprays including all insecticides and
fungicides to increase their effectiveness.
The recommended rate is 1 ml of Raingard to each litre of spraymix & foliar
fertilisers.
To top of this page.
If there is not a garden centre near you with Raingard in stock, then order through our Mail order page at
Mail order
To top of this page.
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You can reach me by e-mail at: wallyjr@manawatu.gen.nz
Mail Order service for special gardening products. We also have the Neem Oil and Neem 50WP for whitefly control here plus other insects..Graph showing Raingard comparison to other Products.
