What occurs when a chemical reaction results from mixing certain pesticides in a spray tank?

When certain pesticides are mixed in a spray tank, chemical incompatibility may occur, which refers to a situation where the substances do not interact well with each other. This can lead to various unwanted outcomes, such as the formation of precipitates, changes in color or viscosity, or reduced effectiveness of the pesticides. Incompatibility can affect the stability of the mixture and might even render the pesticides ineffective against the target pests.

Incompatibility is a crucial concept in pesticide handling because it emphasizes the importance of understanding how different chemicals interact with each other. Proper training is essential to ensure that handlers identify which products can be mixed safely and which should be applied separately to avoid negative reactions.

Other terms, while related to pesticide application, do not specifically describe the effects of mixing incompatible chemicals. For instance, chemical effectiveness refers to how well a pesticide works, drift involves the movement of pesticides away from the target area due to wind or other factors, and volatilization is the process by which a substance converts to a gas or vapor. These concepts play important roles in pesticide application, but they do not directly address the interactions resulting from mixing pesticides.