When formulated and sprayed in an invert emulsion (IE), conidia of the mycoherbicide, Colletotrichum truncatum, controlled hemp sesbania in the absence of dew. To optimize hemp sesbania control, formulation droplet size influence upon the pathogen's germination and pathogenicity was investigated. Conidia germination in manually produced IE droplets decreased from 46% to 5% as droplet diameter decreased from 2700 to 900 μm. Droplet size did not affect appressoria formation. On a per conidium basis, 900-μm droplets were more pathogenic to detached hemp sesbania leaves than were 2100-μm droplets. An air-assist spray system produced droplet spectra with volume median diameters of 421 and 104 μm, respectively. The spectrum of smaller droplets covered the target better than did that of larger droplets. When applied to whole hemp sesbania plants in greenhouse trials, conidia in the smaller and larger droplet spectra gave 90 and 94% control, respectively. Sufficient conidia germinated in IE droplets of a variety of sizes to control hemp sesbania excellently.

Spray droplet size of water and paraffinic oil was affected by air pressure, nozzle type, and liquid flow rate when applied with an ultralow volume (ULV), air-assist sprayer. Volume median diameters of water were generally larger than oil at constant air pressure and liquid flow rate. Droplet size decreased as air pressure increased, but increased as liquid flow rate increased. Volume median diameters of water droplets ranged from 41 to 838 μm and from 16 to 457 μm with oil when atomized at air pressures ranging from 14 to 84 kPa. Relative spans ranged from 1.2 to 18.0 and 2.0 to 7.2 for water and oil, respectively.