When applying a granular pesticide with a hand-pushed drop spreader, what technique should be used to ensure complete coverage?

• A. Applying at the highest labeled rate only once.
• B. Overlapping passes of the herbicide.
• C. Keeping the passes tightly aligned without overlap.
• D. Reducing the movement speed to a minimum.

Answer: (B)

To achieve complete coverage with a granular spreader, you need overlapping passes. The spread pattern from a hand-pushed drop spreader isn’t perfectly uniform across the entire width, so if you only go once across an area you’re likely to leave lighter strips or gaps along the edges and at turns. By overlapping each pass, the treated areas blend together, ensuring the entire target area receives the intended rate and reducing the risk of untreated patches.

Choosing the highest labeled rate once can cause over-application and potential damage without guaranteeing uniform coverage. Keeping passes tightly aligned without overlap creates gaps between passes where the product didn’t reach, leaving untreated stripes. Reducing movement speed to a minimum doesn’t inherently fix coverage gaps and can lead to inconsistent application or localized over-application.