Category: General Operation

Articles that discuss general field sprayer operation and productivity factors

  • Measuring Spray Coverage – Tips with Tom #8

    Measuring Spray Coverage – Tips with Tom #8

    The importance of good spray coverage is emphasized in all kinds of agricultural publications, including product labels. But, according to Tom Wolf, “the labels are remarkably silent on what good coverage actually is and how you can actually measure it.”

    Tom goes on to explain that spray coverage can be defined using three main criteria: droplet density, area covered and dose administered. In order to measure and assess spray coverage, we recommend using water sensitive paper, a rigid, specially-coated, yellow paper which is stained dark blue/purple by aqueous solutions. The paper can be positioned at the targeted levels of the crop canopy with a paper clip or other handy instrument and the coverage received in the field then compared to recommended levels produced in the lab to give an indication of whether or not coverage needs to be adjusted through increasing water volumes or altering droplet size.

    Learn to integrate spray coverage evaluation into your spray operation, and how doing so can help you fine-tune applications.

  • Selecting the Right Sprayer Boom Height – Tips with Tom #5

    Selecting the Right Sprayer Boom Height – Tips with Tom #5

    What’s the right choice for nozzle fan angle? 80 degrees or 110 degrees? This question leads us to boom height. How do we select the right boom height?

    Nozzle fan angle does play a role, but so does the type of sprayer you run and, more importantly, the height that creates the best overlap pattern. In this Spray Tips, Tom Wolf explains the drift risks and realities of boom height settings on high clearance sprayers, why high-set booms can negate the benefits of certain nozzle designs and why low-drift nozzles need 100% overlap. Then, it’s off to the white board to illustrate the relationship between nozzle spacing and ideal boom height.

  • Making the Pressure Gauge your Speedometer – Tips with Tom #4

    Making the Pressure Gauge your Speedometer – Tips with Tom #4

    Good spray quality is essential in application, but all of the factors involved can make getting there quite a challenge. In reviewing magazines, you may see that publishers will bold a certain pressure (like 40 psi). They do this not because that is the pressure the nozzle must experience, but because that is the pressure at which the nozzle produces its nominal flow rate.

    So if you don’t have to spray at that bolded/highlighted number, how do you decide on your ideal pressure?

    Tom Wolf talks about the evolution of pressure ranges in nozzles and walks us through an applicator’s decision-making process. After following the tips in the video, calibrating your sprayer and driving out to the field, you should be able to maximize spray quality by simply using your pressure gauge as the speedometer.

  • Is it OK to Spray in the Early Morning? – Tips with Tom #2

    Is it OK to Spray in the Early Morning? – Tips with Tom #2

    It’s early morning on a bright, clear day. The sun is just starting to climb. There’s a heavy dew on the crop. Should you still head out to spray? Well, the dew is one thing, but there’s a much larger factor at play here that should factor in your decision. Whether or not you should spray with a heavy dew on the plant is this week’s Question of the Day, and then it’s time to head into the meat of this — inversions.

    The concept of an atmospheric inversion isn’t the most simple thing to wrap your head around, but in this episode of Spray Tips, Tom Wolf explains it, draws it and describes how to manage for it. What more could you ask for? Well, for one, you could start asking the weather forecasters to include more information in the morning run-down to help you identify an inversion… but that’s a discussion for another day.

  • 7 Tips for Purchasing a New Sprayer – Tips with Tom #1

    7 Tips for Purchasing a New Sprayer – Tips with Tom #1

    What’s the only surefire way to know whether or not the sprayer is applying product at the rate you’ve specified? Can you let the cab monitor set it and forget it? After the Question of the Day, Tom moves on to the very important decision of choosing a new sprayer.

    What’s your goal? Getting more acres sprayed correctly and at the right time.

    Tom offers perspective on seven factors that should play into sprayer selection, but sometimes don’t (new paint and machines that go BING! are very distracting), and how to weigh the pros and cons of each category.