ISO 22368-2:2004

Overview

ISO 22368-2:2004 - Crop protection equipment - Test methods for the evaluation of cleaning systems - Part 2: External cleaning of sprayers - defines standardized test methods for assessing how effectively sprayers are cleaned on their external surfaces. The standard targets mounted, trailed and self‑propelled agricultural sprayers used for crop protection and liquid fertilizer applications and provides reproducible procedures to simulate contamination, measure residues and compare cleaning devices or configurations.

Key Topics and Requirements

• Two complementary test methods
  • Test A - produces a defined, reproducible external contamination using a 0.1% solution of yellow Tartrazine (E102). Intended for sprayer development and adjustment to minimize contamination.
  • Test B - evaluates the performance of attached cleaning devices using a 0.1% suspension of copper oxychloride (see Annex A for composition). Intended for comparative performance testing of cleaning systems.
• Test conditions and controls
  • Test liquid temperature: 5 °C to 25 °C.
  • Environmental controls during replications: air temperature range ≤5 °C, relative humidity range ≤20%, maximum wind speed 5.0 m/s (measured at 2 m height).
  • Minimum of three replications; coefficient of variation (CV) must be ≤15% or tests repeated.
• Procedures and measurements
  • Contamination step: operate sprayer driving in circles for 10 minutes with equal left/right turns (circle radius depends on sprayer type).
  • Cleaning and sampling: use a catchment pool to collect rinsate, measure rinse volumes, and take representative samples (Test A: 3 samples; Test B: 10 samples).
  • Analytical methods: spectrophotometric analysis for Tartrazine (Test A); atomic absorption spectrometry for copper (Test B).
  • Reporting: percentage of deposited mass recovered by cleaning, environmental and test-condition records, and example test reports (Annex B and C).

Applications and Users

ISO 22368-2 is useful for:

• Sprayer designers and manufacturers - to optimize boom layout, shields and attachments to reduce external contamination.
• Test laboratories and certification bodies - to perform standardized comparisons of cleaning devices and to support performance claims.
• Research organizations and agricultural engineers - studying drift, residue management, operator safety and environmental protection.
• Regulators and farm advisors - as a reference for performance expectations and best practices in sprayer cleaning.

Practical benefits include objective comparison of cleaning devices, improved operator/environmental safety, reduced cross-contamination risk and data to support product development or procurement decisions.

Related Standards

• ISO 22368-1 - Internal cleaning of complete sprayers
• ISO 22368-3 - Internal cleaning of tank

Keywords: ISO 22368-2:2004, external cleaning of sprayers, test methods, crop protection equipment, sprayer cleaning, Test A, Test B, copper oxychloride, Tartrazine, agricultural sprayers.