To increase overlap with a boom sprayer, you should

• A. Raise boom
• B. Lower boom
• C. Increase nozzle size
• D. Decrease spray rate

Answer: (A)

Raising the boom increases the swath width of each nozzle’s spray footprint on the ground. With the same nozzle spacing and pressure, a higher boom lets the spray travel farther before hitting the target, so the individual patterns overlap more with their neighbors. This extra overlap helps produce more uniform coverage and reduces gaps.

Lowering the boom does the opposite, narrowing each nozzle’s footprint and reducing overlap, which can create gaps in coverage. Changing nozzle size mainly affects droplet size and drift rather than how much the individual spray patterns overlap. Decreasing the spray rate lowers overall volume, which won’t increase overlap and can worsen coverage.