Welcome to Sprayers 101
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.
Our most recent articles:
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Insecticidal Management of Rangeland Grasshoppers using RPAS
This article summarizes a 2022 paper that can be downloaded here. Grasshoppers are an integral part of rangeland ecosystems, but population outbreaks can cause significant damage to adjacent crops and forage. For example, cattle consume about 1.5-2.5% of their body weight in forage per day, so pound for pound, a grasshopper will eat 12-20 times…
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Crop-Adapted Spraying – A Multiyear Study in Highbush Blueberry (2023 Update)
This case study is taking place on a 15 acre highbush blueberry operation in southern Ontario. In 2016, considerable pressure from spotted-wing drosophila (SWD) prompted the growers to make changes to their crop management practices and their spray program. They employed a three-pronged approach to improving crop protection: We have been tracking pesticide use, water…
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The State of Drone Spraying in Canadian Agriculture (2023)
In Canada, the use of drones for pesticide application, otherwise known as Remote Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS), is regulated by two Federal Departments: Transport Canada establishes regulations for safe operation and Health Canada for the registration and conditions of use of pest control products. Drones are already used in Canadian agriculture for crop surveillance and…
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‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
Here’s our rendition of the Christmas classic: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas… but with a bit of a sprayer-winterizing twist. You can hear us read it in the audio bar below, read it yourself, or watch as the talented Bridgette Readel (@bmreadel) reads it to you (end of article). Happy holidays from Sprayers101! ‘Twas the…
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End of Spraying Season Checklist
It’s finally that time of year to put away the most-used piece of farm equipment, the sprayer. Winterizing is a necessary step, but also an opportunity to do a few extra things. Winterizing Before you do anything, walk around the sprayer and note any telltale signs of liquid leaks. Once washed, the helpful dusty surfaces…
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Airblast Spring Start-up and Winterizing
Any description of airblast sprayer start-up must, contextually, make assumptions on how it was winterized for long-term storage. This cyclic relationship is why I use a chicken-and-egg title slide when giving this presentation. The inability to describe one process without the other is further complicated by the possibility that the sprayer is brand new and was…
