Sprayers101 Archive
Search our archive of expert-written, data-driven analysis of spraying techniques, equipment, strategies, and more.
The Hidden Shape of a Drone’s Spray Swath: What 2-D Imagery Reveals
Most operators assume drone swath widths are wide, stable, and predictable. That confidence generally comes from three places: But drones move through space and…
Droplet Trajectories from RPAS Application – Implications for Swath Width Measurements
We conducted a series of drone deposition studies with three main objectives: We wanted to: The four swath width measurement methods were: Assuming a…
Green-on-Green in Ontario: A Custom Operator’s Experience with See & Spray Premium
In the summer of 2025, Todd Frey of Clean Field Services (Drayton, Ontario) and I participated in the Elora Weeds Tour. We discussed his…
Drone Tendering – Considerations before Buying or Building
Much of this article is based on a session and tradeshow I attended at the 2026 Drone End-User Conference in Kansas City. I want…
The Carvalho Boom and the Stages of Quadcopter Flight
The Hypothesis The results of a recent herbicide deposition study performed with the DJI T100 led us to observe that after ~13 m/s, swath…
Wanted: A New Technology for Assessing Spray Coverage – The Spray Doctor
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”. While the source is nebulous (Peter Drucker, Lord Kelvin, or Antoine-Augustin Cournot), the sentiment is…
Evaluating the return on investment of optical sprayers for horticulture
Investing in an optical sprayer for horticulture is not a straightforward financial decision. Compared with a conventional boom sprayer, the upfront capital cost is…
Crop-Adapted Spraying in Highbush Blueberry: Nine years of pesticide savings
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)…
Exploding Sprayer Myths (ep.15): Where will it land?
Celebrating 10 years of “thinking we’re funny”, Exploding Sprayer Myths is back with a new opening sequence! Join cheesy game show host Wink Boomwobbly…
The Micothon M2 – The Benefit of Air-assist Spraying in a Vegetable Greenhouse
I’ve experienced a few spectacular failures trying to build niche sprayers. Until now, I haven’t had a reason to write much about them. But…
Canada Gazette Part II – Recent and upcoming changes to Canadian rules for operating RPAS
Editor’s Note: This article was posted in June 2025, and as of November 4th all rules have now come into effect. Summary The Government…
Exploring the Accuracy of Drone-Applied Herbicide Treatments
Author’s note: Minor edits were made to this article since the original publication. While the results remain unchanged, aspects of the interpretation have been…
Comparing Fluorescent Dyes for Spray Coverage Evaluation
I work in agricultural extension and I’m always on the lookout for new methods to help me achieve my goals. A big part of…
DJI Agras T100 – First Impressions
On July 15, 2025, DJI Agriculture announced the global launch of the DJI Agras T100. Compared to its predecessor, the T50, it features a…
Ecorobotix’s ARA Sprayer: A targeted sprayer that’s finding its place in Ontario vegetable fields
Targeted spraying is a technology that enables the site-specific application of plant protection products and liquid fertilizers based on sensor readings. Some of the…
Circulating Spray Mix Through a Tank-Rinse Nozzle Maintains Nematode Concentration
This article was co-written with Jennifer Llewellyn, former OMAFA Nursery Crop Specialist With more and more bio-rational products on the market, crop protection methods…
Strainers (aka Filters)
The level of filtration required for any given spray operation depends on the materials sprayed and the nuisance factor: That is, the balance between…
Nozzle Selection for See & Spray Select Spot Sprayers
Spot sprays are becoming mainstream. As of 2024, John Deere’s See & Spray Select, their Green-on-Brown technology, is selling well in western Canada but…
Why are my Airblast Nozzles Plugging?
This article was inspired by the following email: “I’m an organic apple grower with constant nozzle-clogging problems. These problems occur when we use wettable…
Characterizing RPAS Coverage at Four Cardinal Points on a Vertical Plane: Practical implications for spraying wheat at T3
Global research into Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS) is producing pesticide residue, drift and efficacy data that is helping to inform federal regulatory policy.…
Celebrating 10 Years of Sprayers101
On May 29, 2015, we launched www.sprayers101.com. Actually, that date is practically correct, but not technically correct. To celebrate our anniversary, I thought I’d…
Closed Transfer for Airblast Sprayers – A Learning Process
As Canadian farmers begin to adopt closed transfer systems (CTS), growing pains are to be expected. Instructions for installation and use are primarily European…
Fungicides and Integrated Pest Management – An Apple Scab Case Study
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the Winter, 2025 ONCore newsletter (Volume 29, Issue 1). We thought it was an excellent description of…
Alternate Row Spraying
Alternate Row (aka Alternate Row Middle [ARM]) spraying is an application method where the air-assist sprayer does not pass down every alley during an…
Airblast Spraying in Poor Conditions
Some springs are tougher than others. This article was originally written in 2019, which was particularly challenging. The frequency and duration of rain events…