Sprayers 101 is a non-profit resource describing best practices in safe, efficient and effective agricultural spraying. The site is based in Canada with content freely contributed by international authors. Browse our library of articles, videos, presentations, apps, calculators, tables and ePubs.
Search our archive of expert-written, data-driven analysis of spraying techniques, equipment, strategies, and more.
Field Sprayers
Field sprayers are the crop protection workhouses in broad acre and row crop production. From basic operation to new technology, from nozzle selection to tank mixing, if you want to learn to be more effective and efficient with horizontal booms, it’s here.
Green-on-Green in Ontario: A Custom Operator’s Experience with See & Spray Premium
Key takeaways − Regulatory and label uncertainty complicates optical applications; labels often lack guidance for concentrated spot spraying and residue limits. Tendering, mixing,…
Recirculating Boom Options
Key takeaways − Multiple factory and retrofit recirculation systems are now available from OEMs and aftermarket suppliers for a wide range of sprayers.…
Broadcast Boom Nozzle Spacing
Key takeaways − Ensure roughly 100% pattern overlap so volume and droplet size distribution remain uniform across the boom, preventing striping and low…
Orchard and Specialty Sprayers
Specialized crops require specialized sprayers, and if you’re interested in orchards, berries, vegetables, greenhouse and nursery production, this section will have what you need. Dive in to learn about calibration, optimized settings, automation and best practices for a wide array of crop protection equipment.
Evaluating the return on investment of optical sprayers for horticulture
Key takeaways − Much higher upfront cost and annual subscription fees compared with conventional boom sprayers, often by an order of magnitude. ROI…
Airblast Nozzles – The Nozzling Process
Key takeaways − Define sprayer, travel speed, pressure, canopy and environmental constraints before choosing nozzles; adjust air settings first and verify travel speed.…
Assessing Airblast Coverage
Key takeaways − Use water sensitive papers to visualize droplets, quantify coverage, and get timely feedback with smartphone apps or portable scanners. Prepare…
Drone Sprayers
The next chapter in aerial application can be found here. Fixed wing, quadcopters, helicopters and hybrids: Follow the evolution of remotely piloted crop protection as we explore the newest research and best practices for spraying by drone.
Drone Tendering – Considerations before Buying or Building
Key takeaways − Choose trailer first; build for today and tomorrow, prioritize stability, balance and access over appearance. Match tender complexity to budget…
RPAS Swathing in Broad Acre Crop Canopies
Key takeaways − Crop canopies reduce RPAS effective swath width substantially, averaging a 26.6% decrease when measured by deposit density. Deposit density is…
How to Calibrate a Drone
Key takeaways − Verify flow meter accuracy by collecting nozzle output, compare to drone-reported flow, and repeat tests until readings are consistent. Measure…
Airblast 101
Become a safer, more effective and more efficient sprayer operator.
Airblast101 began in 2010 as a classroom-based workshop for Ontario’s airblast sprayer operators. It was intended as a primer and decision-support tool for operators to become safer, more effective and more efficient.
After several iterations, the first textbook edition was made freely available in 2015 as an eBook, or at-cost in hard copy. It won the 2016 Canadian Agri-Marketing Association’s “Certificate of Merit” in the Special Publications Category. While never really intended for a global audience, well over a thousand copies of the first edition were circulated worldwide.
Contact Sprayers 101
Sprayers 101 is Dr. Jason Deveau and Dr. Tom Wolf. With more than 40 years of experience in agricultural spraying, Tom and Jason have researched and presented globally on many aspects of safe, effective and efficient applications.
