Growers will soon benefit from a much trailed quicker, safer and environmentally friendly sprayer filling system, backed by 13 chemical manufacturers.

The Closed Transfer System, easyconnect, reduces sprayer operator exposure to pesticides by 95%, as well as the risk of point source pollution.

Farmers, who have helped test the system, report a 20 to 30% decrease in the time taken to fill their sprayers.

See also: Options expanded for closed-transfer sprayer filling

Scott Cockburn, Syngenta business manager, told Farmers Weekly at the Cereals event that presently their potato blight fungicide Revus (mandipropamid) is the only UK product with easyconnect.

However, Syngenta is planning to bring in more products on a rolling basis.

Scott is “fully behind” the technology and describes it as “brilliant” – faster to use, as well as being better for the environment and operator.

Roll-out of the system is being held up by a bottleneck in supply, as there are only two manufacturers of the caps in the world.

There are also the logistics of changing packaging design at manufacturing plants.

Growers must use a closed transfer system by 2025 in the Netherlands and by 2030 across Europe. No date for use of the system has been set for the UK.

The companies supporting easyconnect are: Adama, Barclay, BASF, Bayer, Certis Belchim, Corteva, FMC, Globachem, Nufarm, Rovensa, Sumitomo Chemical, Syngenta and UPL.