Putting a Number on Pesticide Waste

Waste (noun): an act or instance of using or expending something to no purpose. In agriculture, environment and economy are intertwined. Producers strive to obtain the maximum return on their inputs. They study incremental returns and avoid applying more inputs than necessary, especially if conditions don’t warrant it.  The financial incentive is powerful, and waste […]

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Pressure spikes and relief valves on air-assist sprayers

A properly-sized pump should produce more flow than is needed and work in conjunction with the atomizers to regulate that flow. Typical to high pressure pumps, a piston relief valve (aka regulator) should maintain the desired system pressure through the normal speed range of the sprayer, regardless of the number of booms (or boom-sections) that […]

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Pumps for Applying Crop Protection Products

The pump is the heart of the sprayer and a key component for producing the flow of spray material and sprayer output. Because various spraying situations require different pressures and flow rates, using the correct sprayer pump is essential to achieving desired results. In addition to sprayer considerations, a pump must also be durable enough […]

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Sprayer Wheel Maintenance

Replace the wheel and rim.

This article was co-written with Murray Thiessen, Consulting Agricultural Mechanic. Sprayer wheel assemblies should be cleaned and inspected as part of regular annual maintenance. Wheel bearing maintenance before long-term storage may prevent water from corroding the bearings. The exploded diagram details the parts found in a typical trailed air-assist sprayer wheel assembly. The following procedure was performed […]

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The Droplet Size Debate

Funny how some issues never go away. For as long as I’ve been in the sprayer business, the question of ideal droplet size for pesticide application has remained a hot topic.  At its root are the basic facts that small droplets provide better coverage, making better use of water, but large droplets drift less.  So […]

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