Validate airblast output – nozzle calibration

The SpotOn SC-4 calibration vessel is much easier, faster and more accurate than the classic pitcher-and-stopwatch approach to timed output tests.

Sprayer math is important. It ensures the operator applies the correct product rate and has enough to complete the job. But, it assumes the airblast sprayer is behaving as expected… and it often doesn’t. After confirming the airblast travel speed, use one of the following methods to assess sprayer output. There are pros and cons […]

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What’s with dew? – Tips with Tom #9

Tips with Tom - Title

When warm air is cooled, it loses some of its moisture-holding capabilities. This change often occurs at night, when plants (and other objects) cool. Once the temperature of the surface of the leaves, for example, drops below the dewpoint, it causes water to condense, forming the shiny dew that causes so many to question early […]

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ExactApply: How to add “Section Flow %” Module to Run Screen

The John Deere ExactApply system has a pulsing feature, more commonly known as “Pulse Width Modulation” (PWM). From the operator’s perspective, it’s important to know the Duty Cycle that the system is operating at. The Duty Cycle (DC) is the percentage of time that the pulsing solenoids are “on”, or flowing. At the average travel […]

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The Challenges of Spraying by Drone

Spray application by drone is here. It’s common practice in South East Asia, with a very significant proportion of ag areas now treated that way. Estimates from South Korea, for example, suggest about 30% of their ag area being sprayed by drone. It’s in the US, too. The Yamaha RMax and Fazer helicopters, which pioneered […]

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How Low Can You Go?

There’s a lot of talk about lowering the boom to reduce drift and make twin fan nozzles more effective. But how low can we actually go with a boom before striping becomes a problem? We’ve done some calculating and have come up with answers. First, a few guidelines. Tapered flat fan nozzles require overlap to […]

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