In 2014 one of our OMAFRA summer students designed a short-and-gritty demonstration using a backpack sprayer, a variable-speed fan and some water-sensitive paper positioned downwind at 1.5 metre intervals. The intent was to illustrate how sprayer operators could reduce the potential for off-target drift by recognizing and accounting for three factors: Apparent wind speed (i.e. […]
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Download the 2023 publication from Crop Protection here. Cercospora leaf spot (CLS), caused by the fungal pathogen Cercospora beticola, is one of the most damaging foliar diseases affecting sugarbeet (Figure 1) (Khan et al. 2008). Growers rely on broad-spectrum contact fungicides because they are less likely to cause fungicide resistance (OMAFRA 2020). However, these fungicides […]
As originally published by The Grower, August 2020. Pests such as insects, diseases, and weeds can affect our quality of life in many different ways. Pests can represent a threat to public health and the environment as well as create substantial negative impacts to the economy if they are not sufficiently managed. Crop protection products […]
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In June 2013 we ran a ginseng spraying workshop and we learned as much as the growers did. Ginseng is notoriously difficult to spray: It is highly susceptible to pathogens given the high humidity and still conditions generally found under the shade structure. It forms a solid ceiling of leaves that resist spray penetrating to […]
The self-propelled sprayer revolution is complete in western Canada. Almost all sales of new equipment are self-propelled. In fact, the once thriving sector of Canadian-made pull-type sprayers, and the innovations they brought to spraying, has disappeared. In its place we have self-propelled sprayers that offer plenty of power, large tanks, high mobility and comfort, and […]
Read More… from Does the Pull-Type Sprayer once again have a Place on our Farms?