All hort articles on sprayer calibration and air adjustment.
There are many advantages to using rate controllers, but their primary role is to maintain a constant application rate. All sprayers change speed on hills, at row-ends, or in response to surface conditions. Since flow from an uncontrolled sprayer is constant, the application rate varies significantly (up to 40% in hilly conditions). Rate controllers compensate […]
An airblast sprayer inspection is part of preventative maintenance. This daily activity identifies small problems before they become big ones. You can do it at the filling station, so it’s fairly convenient. Don’t think of it as stealing time from your spray day… it’s part of your spray day. Don’t skip it. If time is […]
Read More… from Airblast maintenance inspection – the morning walkaround
“Sprayer calibration is an important part of any crop protection program.” Everyone says so, so it must be important. But what exactly are they asking you to do, and why? When delivering presentations I often take the opportunity to ask audiences to define airblast sprayer calibration. Their responses cover a wide range of activities that […]
Read More… from Airblast calibration – clearing up confusion
Where crops are planted in rows, growers can save on chemical costs and reduce potentially wasted spray by performing banded applications. A banded application is treating parallel bands (Figure one), unlike a broadcast application where the entire area is treated (Figure two). This means only a portion of the field or orchard/vineyard floor receives spray, […]
Here, in no particular order, are the most common airblast-related questions: What nozzles should I use? How do I adjust my air settings? How much volume should I use? How fast should I drive? The first three questions have long answers that are covered throughout the website and in Airblast101. Travel speed, however, is easy: […]