How to Choose and Measure the Right Crossbow Spray Strength

Crossbow has no single all-purpose mix ratio. The amount to measure depends on the exact product, target vegetation, treatment site, application method, and directions on the current label attached to the container.

The chart below reproduces conversion figures from a supplied label for a specific Crossbow registration. It can show how much concentrate produces a 1%, 1.5%, or 4% mixture, but it cannot determine which strength—if any—is authorized for a particular job. Make that decision from the target- and method-specific directions on the current label before measuring concentrate.

The short answer: Crossbow ratios for common sprayer sizes

The following Crossbow herbicide mix-ratio chart comes from a supplied label for EPA Registration No. 62719-260-829. The document is hosted by a third-party repository and appears in a file associated with 2017, so treat it as a product-specific historical reference—not as proof of the current directions for every Crossbow container.

Important: Every volume below is the final, completed spray volume after Crossbow has been added. A 3-gallon batch contains concentrate plus enough water to make 3 gallons total. Do not begin with 3 full gallons of water and then add concentrate on top.

Final spray volume	Crossbow for 1% mixture	Crossbow for 1.5% mixture	Crossbow for 4% mixture
1 gallon	1 1/3 fl oz	2 fl oz	5 1/3 fl oz
3 gallons	4 fl oz	6 fl oz	1 pint
5 gallons	6 2/3 fl oz	10 fl oz	1 2/3 pints
50 gallons	2 quarts	3 quarts	2 gallons
100 gallons	1 gallon	1.5 gallons	4 gallons

These quantities are printed in the supplied third-party-hosted Crossbow label and mixing table. Compare the product name, EPA registration number, distributor, label revision, use directions, and restrictions with the current label attached to your container.

The table provides conversions, not three interchangeable recommendations. In particular:

• A 1-gallon completed batch uses 1 1/3 fluid ounces for 1%, 2 fluid ounces for 1.5%, or 5 1/3 fluid ounces for 4%.
• A 3-gallon completed batch uses 4 fluid ounces for 1%, 6 fluid ounces for 1.5%, or 1 pint for 4%.
• A 5-gallon completed batch uses 6 2/3 fluid ounces for 1%, 10 fluid ounces for 1.5%, or 1 2/3 pints for 4%.

The table does not create a discretionary range from 1 1/3 to 5 1/3 ounces per gallon. A 1% spray and a 4% spray are materially different concentrations. Use one only when the current label assigns it to the identified target, site, and method.

Tank size is therefore the second question, not the first. Use this sequence:

1. Identify the exact product and current label.
2. Determine the authorized concentration or per-acre rate for the target, site, and method.
3. Decide how much finished spray is needed.
4. Calculate the corresponding amount of concentrate.
5. Add water only until the completed mixture reaches the intended final volume.

If the registration, formulation, or directions on your container differ from the supplied document, the label attached to your product controls. Using a pesticide inconsistently with its labeling violates federal law.

Why online Crossbow mix ratios appear to conflict

Online answers often combine different concentrations, targets, labels, and application methods under the general heading “Crossbow mix ratio.” That makes unlike figures appear to contradict one another.

Elk Mound Seed, for example, lists 2–3 fluid ounces per gallon for spot spraying and separately gives a broadcast rate of 2–4 quarts per acre. Those are commercial summary figures, not universal directions, and the page does not explain which targets receive 2 ounces rather than 3 ounces per gallon. The distinction appears on the retailer’s Crossbow product listing.

Other commercial material gives a broader range of 1 1/3–5 1/3 fluid ounces per gallon. In the supplied label table, the key values represent separate concentrations:

• 1 1/3 fluid ounces per finished gallon corresponds to 1%.
• 2 fluid ounces corresponds to 1.5%.
• 5 1/3 fluid ounces corresponds to 4%.

The broad range therefore spans three different strengths. It does not mean that every amount between the endpoints is automatically suitable.

The frequently repeated instruction to use 4–6 fluid ounces in a 3-gallon sprayer follows the same arithmetic. Four ounces in 3 gallons is the table’s 1% entry, while 6 ounces is its 1.5% entry. That explains where the range comes from, but it does not establish that either concentration is correct for an unidentified weed, brush species, or site.

Age and formatting create additional problems. A DoMyOwn retailer Q&A last updated in 2017 renders the range poorly as “11/3–51/3 oz.” The context suggests 1 1/3–5 1/3 ounces, but the age, commercial source, and broken fraction make the older retailer answer unsuitable as controlling directions.

Choosing an average does not resolve these differences. An average between 1% and 4% is simply another concentration; it does not become authorized because it falls between two printed values. The correct rate may depend on:

• Target weed or woody species
• Foliar, broadcast, basal-bark, or cut-stump method
• Pasture, rangeland, roadside, ditch-bank, industrial, or other treatment site
• Product formulation and EPA registration
• State-specific registration or restrictions
• Single-application and seasonal limits

Use this evidence hierarchy:

1. The current label attached to the exact container and applicable regulations
2. A complete label matching the product and EPA registration
3. Target-specific extension guidance used together with that label
4. Retailer summaries and Q&A pages

Repetition across commercial pages does not prove that a rate is currently authorized, appropriate for a particular plant, or valid in every jurisdiction.

How to select a concentration before measuring the product

Do not begin by choosing 1%, 1.5%, or 4% according to how difficult the vegetation appears. Begin by identifying the use covered by the current label.

Follow this decision sequence:

1. Identify the exact product. Record the full product name, formulation, distributor, and EPA registration number from the container.
2. Read the attached label. Check its revision and any supplemental labeling that applies to the product and location.
3. Identify the target plant. Use a species-level identification when possible rather than a broad description such as “brush.”
4. Confirm the treatment site. Make sure the exact pasture, rangeland, roadside, fence row, ditch bank, industrial area, or other site is listed.
5. Identify the application method. Determine whether the job is a foliar spot treatment, broadcast application, basal-bark treatment, or cut-stump treatment.
6. Find the applicable direction. Use only the concentration or per-acre rate assigned to that combination.
7. Check all limitations. Review maximum rates, seasonal limits, additives, carriers, drift controls, grazing restrictions, reentry directions, and timing requirements.
8. Calculate the tank quantity only after those checks are complete.

The available evidence does not map every weed or woody species to 1%, 1.5%, or 4%. Without the exact target, site, product, and method, this article cannot responsibly select a strength for the reader.

The methods also differ fundamentally:

• Foliar spot treatment applies a concentration in a known volume of finished spray to leaves and aboveground growth in a limited area.
• Broadcast treatment distributes a labeled quantity of product over a measured area, normally expressed per acre.
• Basal-bark treatment applies material to the bark and underlying tissues near the base of a standing woody stem.
• Cut-stump treatment applies material to specified tissues on a freshly cut surface to address living regrowth.

A rate for one method cannot automatically be transferred to another. Carrier, concentration, timing, coverage, and maximum quantity may all differ.

A Kansas State University extension guide illustrates the importance of target-specific context. For foliar treatment of hedge during June–July, it lists approximately a 1.5% Crossbow mixture: 27 fluid ounces in 14 gallons, 1.5 quarts in 25 gallons, 3 quarts in 50 gallons, or 1.5 gallons in 100 gallons. The guide also tells users to verify rates, timing, and restrictions against the product label. These figures are a bounded extension recommendation for hedge, not a default for every woody plant.

That example supports only a narrow conclusion: a roughly 1.5% foliar mixture appears in guidance for a named plant, treatment method, and seasonal window. It does not establish 1.5% as the correct rate for blackberry, locust, poison ivy, stump sprouts, unidentified brush, or another target.

The cited formulation is described for unwanted woody plants and annual or perennial broadleaf weeds on specified rangeland, permanent grass pasture, Conservation Reserve Program acreage, roadsides, fence rows, non-irrigation ditch banks, industrial sites, and other non-crop areas. “Woody plants” remains too broad a category for rate selection.

Before opening the concentrate, complete this checklist:

• [ ] Product name and formulation match the label being consulted
• [ ] EPA registration number matches
• [ ] Label revision and supplemental labeling are current
• [ ] Product is registered for the intended state and location
• [ ] Target species has been identified
• [ ] Treatment site is expressly allowed
• [ ] Application method is authorized
• [ ] Concentration or per-acre rate comes from the applicable direction
• [ ] Single-use and seasonal maximums have been checked
• [ ] Any additive or carrier is permitted
• [ ] Grazing, haying, livestock, and entry restrictions are understood
• [ ] Drift and weather requirements can be met

If any item remains uncertain, stop before mixing.

Spot spraying and broadcast application use different rate logic

A spot-spray concentration and a broadcast rate answer different questions.

For small-area foliar spraying, the rate may be presented as concentrate in a specified final spray volume. Once the label supplies the authorized concentration, the conversion table can show how much concentrate belongs in a 1-, 3-, or 5-gallon completed batch.

Broadcast directions instead specify how much product may be applied over a measured area, commonly in pints, quarts, or gallons per acre. Tank capacity alone does not establish the rate because two equally sized tanks may cover very different areas.

• Nozzle type, size, spacing, and condition
• Operating pressure
• Travel speed
• Boom height or spray pattern
• Terrain
• Overlap between passes
• Handgun operator technique

You need to know how many gallons of finished spray the equipment applies per acre under the intended operating conditions.

Commercial figures illustrate the category problem. Elk Mound Seed lists 2–4 quarts per acre, while a different retailer describes acreage treatment using up to 1.5 gallons per acre in 10–30 gallons of total spray volume. The latter appears on DIY Pest Control’s Crossbow product page. Neither figure should be treated as a general recommendation; different targets, sites, treatment types, or summarized directions may be involved.

By comparison, the supplied label states a maximum of 1 gallon of Crossbow per acre per growing season on range and pasture sites, with at least 2 gallons of spray solution per acre. Those are site-specific limits, not permission to use the maximum in every range or pasture situation. The applicable target directions and current container label still govern.

Use this non-prescriptive workflow for a broadcast tank:

1. Calibrate the equipment to determine finished-spray gallons per acre.
2. Find the label-authorized amount of Crossbow per acre for the target, site, and method.
3. Determine how many calibrated acres one tank treats.
4. Multiply the authorized product-per-acre amount by the acres treated per tank.
5. Add only that amount of product while filling to the intended final tank volume.
6. Recheck single-application and seasonal maximums.

For example, if a calibrated tank treats a known number of acres, calculate the concentrate from those acres—not merely from the tank’s gallon capacity.

Do not divide a per-acre rate by tank capacity and save the result as a permanent ounces-per-gallon ratio. Such a ratio would remain valid only while the calibrated gallons per acre and all other applicable conditions remained unchanged.

How to mix Crossbow in a spray tank

Once the label-authorized concentration or broadcast quantity is known, use the supplied label’s filling sequence:

1. Begin with a clean spray tank and suitable, functioning equipment.
2. Add clean water until the tank is approximately half full.
3. Start agitation if the equipment permits.
4. Measure the required Crossbow concentrate with a suitable graduated device.
5. Add the measured concentrate to the partly filled tank.
6. Continue filling with clean water until the final intended spray volume is reached.
7. Maintain moderate agitation during filling and application.

For a 3-gallon batch, Crossbow is included within the completed 3 gallons. Add concentrate and then enough water to bring the mixture to 3 gallons total; do not add concentrate to 3 gallons of water.

Fractional-ounce quantities require accurate measurement.

Crossbow should not be described as simply dissolving in water. The supplied label identifies the formulation as forming an emulsion rather than a true solution. Moderate agitation helps limit separation and maintain a consistent mixture during application.

Do not treat surfactant as a standard ingredient. Some retailer pages mention adding one, but the available evidence does not establish a universal Crossbow surfactant requirement. Before adding a surfactant, oil, dye, fertilizer, or another tank-mix component:

• Confirm that the current Crossbow label permits it for the intended use.
• Read and follow the additive’s own label.
• Check compatibility and the required order of addition.
• Follow the most restrictive applicable precautions.
• Do not infer permission from a general retailer tip.

If the current label does not clearly authorize an additive or carrier, do not add it.

Do not reuse foliar water ratios for cut-stump or basal-bark treatment

The supplied evidence does not establish a label-compliant universal Crossbow cut-stump ratio. The 1%, 1.5%, and 4% water-mixture table must not be adapted automatically for stump treatment.

Foliar, basal-bark, and cut-stump applications reach different tissues:

• A foliar spray coats living leaves and shoots.
• A basal-bark application targets bark and underlying tissues near the lower stem.
• A cut-stump application targets specified tissues exposed by a fresh cut.

Because the target tissues differ, the directions may also differ in carrier, concentration, timing, coverage, stem size, and permitted treatment site.

Solutions Pest & Lawn states that low-volume basal and cut-stump treatments require an oil-based carrier. That commercial summary is useful only as a prompt to locate the complete method-specific directions; it is not enough to select an oil, concentration, or ratio. The retailer also directs users back to product-specific restrictions on its Crossbow information page.

Never substitute a water-based foliar mixture where the controlling method requires an oil carrier. Conversely, do not add oil to a water-based application merely because a separate basal-bark or cut-stump method may use it.

Also distinguish two goals that are often grouped together as “chemical stump treatment”:

• Herbicidal regrowth control aims to kill or suppress living stump and root tissues.
• Chemical decay treatment uses a stump-removal product to encourage the remaining wood to break down.

A brush herbicide does not physically remove the stump. Readers dealing with shoots from living roots should first review the distinction between cutting, regrowth, and herbicidal treatment in this guide to why stumps sprout and how regrowth is addressed.

Potassium-nitrate stump-removal products address wood decay rather than serving as interchangeable brush-herbicide mixtures. That distinction is explained further in this guide to chemical stump removal and its limitations.

Before attempting a Crossbow cut-stump treatment:

1. Identify the tree or shrub species.
2. Confirm that the exact current label expressly authorizes cut-stump use at the site.
3. Find the specified carrier and concentration.
4. Check which part of the cut surface must be treated.
5. Verify timing requirements and maximum rates.
6. Review nearby-plant, runoff, drift, and personal-protection precautions.

Do not import ratios from triclopyr-only concentrates, glyphosate products, or other brush killers. Products may differ in active-ingredient concentration, formulation, carrier, registration, and directions even when they contain related ingredients.

If the current Crossbow label does not clearly authorize the intended cut-stump treatment, do not create a recipe from the foliar table.

Label, site, drift, PPE, and reentry checks before spraying

The cited label covers specified uses on rangeland, permanent grass pasture, Conservation Reserve Program acreage, fence rows, non-irrigation ditch banks, roadsides, industrial sites, and other non-crop areas. It also says not to use the product on crops, timber, home lawns, bentgrass, or newly seeded grasses that have not developed an established root system and tillering. These site directions appear in the Crossbow label held by Washington State University’s pesticide-label repository; verify them against the label attached to your current product.

The supplied evidence therefore does not support presenting Crossbow as a general residential-lawn, crop, or timber herbicide. A use allowed on pasture or another non-crop site does not establish permission for a home lawn.

Contact or drift can injure desirable broadleaf plants and sensitive crops. A treatment that leaves intended grasses standing can still damage nearby flowers, garden plants, shrubs, trees, or broadleaf crops. “Selective” does not mean harmless to all non-target vegetation.

The supplied label prohibits application at wind speeds above 10 mph, warns about low-humidity and high-temperature conditions associated with drift concerns, requires specified protective equipment, and keeps people and pets out until sprays have dried. It also states a 14-day interval before hay harvest, while noting additional livestock-related restrictions. Confirm every provision against the complete current local label before use.

Supported PPE categories include:

• Long-sleeved shirt and long pants
• Shoes and socks
• Chemical-resistant gloves
• Protective eyewear
• A chemical-resistant apron when mixing, loading, or otherwise exposed to concentrate as specified

PPE must meet the material and use requirements on the current label. Ordinary work gloves or general-purpose eyewear should not be assumed to satisfy pesticide-label specifications.

Keep people and pets out of the treated area until sprays have dried. Do not treat that statement as overriding a longer agricultural entry restriction or another site-specific direction.

Pasture and rangeland users must also review all grazing, slaughter, lactating-animal, forage, and hay restrictions. The 14-day hay interval is not a complete summary of the animal-related directions.

State and local requirements may be more restrictive than general federal labeling. Retailer availability lists are inconsistent and do not establish that a product is registered, prohibited, or suitable in a particular state. Confirm registration through the appropriate state pesticide authority or another authoritative local source.

Before applying, evaluate conditions at the treatment site, including nearby sensitive vegetation and the drift controls specified by the label. If label weather and drift requirements cannot be met, postpone the application.

Final label-verification check

• Match the full product name and EPA registration number to the container.
• Use the latest label attached to that product, including applicable supplemental directions.
• Confirm state registration and local restrictions.
• Verify the target plant, site, and application method.
• Find the authorized concentration or per-acre rate.
• Check single-application and maximum seasonal rates.
• Confirm whether additives or special carriers are permitted.
• Review drift controls, weather limits, PPE, reentry, grazing, livestock, and hay restrictions.
• Measure concentrate only after every item is clear.

How much Crossbow do I mix with one gallon of water?

The supplied conversion table lists 1 1/3 fluid ounces for a 1% mixture, 2 fluid ounces for a 1.5% mixture, and 5 1/3 fluid ounces for a 4% mixture, with each amount included within one gallon of finished spray. The same label table provides the corresponding figures for larger batches in the product-specific supplied document.

Do not choose among those strengths based only on sprayer size. The current label must assign the concentration to the target vegetation, treatment site, and application method. Add the authorized amount of Crossbow and then enough water to reach one gallon total.

How much Crossbow goes into a 3-gallon sprayer?

For 3 gallons of completed spray, the supplied table lists:

• 4 fluid ounces for 1%
• 6 fluid ounces for 1.5%
• 1 pint for 4%

The commonly repeated retailer guidance of 4–6 ounces in a 3-gallon sprayer corresponds to the 1% and 1.5% entries, but it is not a universal recommendation. Select the concentration from the current target-specific directions before measuring.

Why do Crossbow recommendations range from 1 1/3 to 5 1/3 ounces per gallon?

Because those endpoints represent different mixture strengths. In the supplied table, 1 1/3 ounces per finished gallon makes 1%, 2 ounces makes 1.5%, and 5 1/3 ounces makes 4%.

Commercial pages sometimes compress those separate concentrations into one broad range. That range does not authorize users to select any convenient amount within it. The correct figure depends on the exact product label, target, site, and treatment method.

Can I use the same Crossbow ratio for spot spraying, broadcast spraying, and cut-stump treatment?

No. Spot spraying may use a concentration in a known final spray volume. Broadcast treatment uses a labeled product quantity per treated acre and requires calibrated sprayer output. Cut-stump treatment may have separate directions for carrier, concentration, timing, and treated tissue.

Do not convert among these methods without express label directions, and do not reuse the foliar water table as a stump recipe.

Is Crossbow labeled for use on a residential lawn?

The supplied label says not to use the product on home lawns. It also lists restrictions involving bentgrass and newly seeded grasses without established roots and tillering. These restrictions should be checked against the current product and local label in the WSU pesticide-label repository.

Do not assume that a product permitted for certain pasture or non-crop uses is also permitted on residential turf. The evidence reviewed here does not support applying Crossbow as a general home-lawn herbicide.

Final rule: Identify the exact product, confirm the target and site, select the label-authorized method and concentration, and measure concentrate for the stated final spray volume.

The conversion chart is useful, but it cannot replace target-specific directions, broadcast calibration, or an expressly authorized cut-stump procedure. If the product registration, target, method, additive, carrier, or restriction is unclear, stop and obtain the current product and local label before proceeding.