Description
Apply agricultural chemicals to crops and facilities to control weeds, insects, and diseases while protecting yield and quality. Calibrate and operate application equipment; mix, handle, and transport chemicals safely; monitor weather and site conditions; maintain records; and ensure compliance with labels and regulations. Scout fields, maintain equipment, and support integrated pest management practices.
- • Mix, load, and apply herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and fertilizers according to labels and prescriptions.
- • Calibrate sprayers, spreaders, and chemigation systems to deliver target rates.
- • Select nozzles, boom height, pressure, and droplet size to manage coverage and drift.
- • Monitor weather and field conditions, including wind, temperature inversions, and humidity, before and during applications.
- • Establish buffer zones and follow drift and volatilization mitigation requirements.
- • Maintain detailed application records, including products, rates, acres, weather, and as-applied maps.
- • Scout fields for weeds, insects, and diseases to inform treatment timing and efficacy checks.
- • Conduct pre-application site assessments for sensitive areas, waterways, pollinators, and neighboring crops.
- • Handle, transport, and store chemicals under EPA, DOT, and state regulations; maintain SDS and inventory.
- • Perform jar tests and compatibility checks; measure and weigh ingredients accurately.
- • Adjust carrier water pH and hardness; add adjuvants as specified.
- • Set up nurse tanks, mixing areas, and secondary containment for loading operations.
- • Clean, decontaminate, and triple-rinse equipment and containers; manage rinsate and waste disposal.
- • Inspect, maintain, and repair pumps, hoses, valves, filters, and nozzles to ensure proper operation.
- • Use GPS guidance, rate controllers, and section control to minimize skips and overlaps.
- • Coordinate application schedules with growers and, when needed, aerial applicators.
- • Post treated-area signage and enforce restricted-entry intervals per WPS.
- • Train and supervise seasonal applicators or helpers in safe handling and PPE use.
- • Respond to spills or exposures using established emergency procedures and reporting.
- • Collect soil, tissue, water, or drift samples for analysis when required.
- • Prepare data summaries and reports on applications, weather, and treatment outcomes.
- • Implement resistance management by rotating modes of action and integrating cultural controls.
- • Perform edge management such as spot spraying, ditchbank weed control, and yard or facility treatments.
- • Set up and operate field monitoring tools such as weather meters, flags, and drift cards.
- • Install and test chemigation backflow prevention and injection equipment to protect water sources.
- • Verify preharvest intervals, crop stages, and label restrictions before application.
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
