Category: Boom Sprayers

Main category for sprayers with horizontal booms

  • Spraywise – Broadacre Application Handbook

    Spraywise – Broadacre Application Handbook

    I haven’t written a book-report since high school, but I was recently sent a copy of Dr. Jorg Kitt’s “Spraywise – Broadacre Application Handbook” and I was compelled to share. It’s published by Nufarm and is based out of Australia. What a fantastic, easy-to-read book full of excellent spraying know-how.

    Am I overselling this?
    I am not.

    Spraywise - Broadacre Application Handbook by Dr. Jorg Kitt (published by Nufarm, Australia)
    Spraywise – Broadacre Application Handbook by Dr. Jorg Kitt (published by Nufarm, Australia)

    The chapters include:

    • Droplet Size
    • Chemical Target Interaction
    • Nozzle Types
    • Nozzle Selection
    • Nozzle Spacing & Boom Height
    • Drift
    • Weather
    • Adjuvants
    • Formulation & Mixing Order
    • Cleaning Procedure
    • Calibration
    • Record Keeping

    At risk of copyright infringement, let me share a little of Dr. Kitt’s advice on chemical and target interaction.

    “Many chemicals used in agriculture show only limited movement in or on the plant. For surface active fungicides such as mancozeb coverage is critical because the active does not move – it settles where the droplet dries with only limited redistribution properties.”

    This is why we suggest coverage is king when applying products that don’t translocate. You can slow down, raise water volume, or as a last resort reduce spray quality (minding the drift and evaporation issues that arise from this choice). But he goes on:

    “Many cereal fungicides such as DMIs move only in the xylem (water transport bundles) and therefore can only travel in one direction – upwards towards the tip of the leaf (acropetal).”

    So, I admit that as I continue to transition from horticultural spray applications to broadacre work, I have a lot to learn. Something that bothered me when I started looking at fungicide applications in corn was the appalling coverage on water sensitive paper. If any of my vegetable or orchard applicators had such poor coverage, their crops would be riddled with disease… so why was such poor coverage working so well in field crops?

    According to this new-to-me information, perhaps the >Coarse droplets were penetrating the canopy, reaching down to impinge on the base of the plant (or splatter up from the soil) where they could re-distribute by moving up through the xylem. It certainly makes more sense to me why such coarse droplets and relatively low volumes can still be efficacious for certain fungicides in field crops. I’ll reiterate – this may be old hat to some readers, but I still have a lot to learn on this topic.

    Dr. Kitt shares many digestible, easily-implemented little factoids that make this handbook a must-have for your spray library. Applied herbicide advice, for example:

    “…if 50% of the ground is covered with stubble only half the spray volume will hit the soil directly; the other half will strike stubble. To optimise applications in this situation it is important to produce droplets with sufficient velocity to increase bounce and splatter. The applicator should use higher water volumes (70-100 L/ha) and a coarse to very coarse spray quality. In a clean bed spray quality and water volume have little effect. A coarse spray quality and water volumes above 50 L should be sufficient to achieve efficacy.

    These volumes are low for North America (Australia uses nerve-rackingly low volumes) but otherwise this is solid gold.

    I was fortunate to have someone send me a copy of this handbook. I’ve poked around on-line to try to find a Nufarm-based website where anyone could order a copy, but I was unsuccessful. However, if you Google “Spraywise Broadacre Application Handbook 2nd ed.” you will find a number of dealers that will happily sell and mail you a copy. I won’t share those links here to avoid a bias, but they’re easily found.

    So, to summarize, I wanted to make the sprayers101 readership aware of this Handbook. Given the affiliation with an agrichemical company, it’s a bit adjuvant-rich, but it’s chock full of great information and well worth the cost and effort to have a copy mailed to you.

    Now I’m going to go back to reading mine.

  • Drift in the Wind – Parody

    Drift in the Wind – Parody

    Sung to the tune of “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas

    I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the spray is gone

    All my drops pass before my eyes, oh no – a drift complaint

    Drift in the wind

    All it is is drift in the wind

    Same old spray, just a tank of product in an endless field

    2,4-D tumbles in the air though we refuse to see

    Drift in the wind

    All we do is drift in the wind

    Oh, ho, ho

    Now, don’t hang on, drops don’t last forever, they evaporate

    They slip away, and all your money too, in drifter court

    Drift in the wind

    All we cause is drift in the wind

    All we do is drift in the wind

    Drift in the wind

    Everything is drift in the wind

    Everything is drift in the wind

    The wind

  • Biopesticides: Holy Grail or Giant Pain?

    Biopesticides: Holy Grail or Giant Pain?

    Biopesticides are a rapidly growing segment in horticultural pest control. While they are often billed as green “miracle cures”, applicators should be aware that they require unique considerations. Issues with lifespan, target specificity, and application technology can all impact their efficacy. However, like any pesticide application, careful planning can minimize wasted time and money.

    Typically defined as pesticides derived from “natural” sources, biopesticides contain active ingredients extracted from plants, microorganisms, animals, and/or certain minerals. Given their origin, and the fact that many biopesticides are living organisms (as is the case with most of the microbial-based pesticides), they are often photo-sensitive and quickly break down. This generally means that they need to be re-applied often.

    Mixing and handling

    Pre-suspending nematodes before inoculating the spray tank.
    Pre-suspending nematodes before inoculating the spray tank.

    Consideration should also be given to the lifespan of these products during the application. Many have an optimum pH for both the carrier water and the soil, and a limited temperature range outside of which they may not be active. As already mentioned, direct sunlight can quickly degrade many biopesticides, which means they should be applied either early or late in the day. Timeliness is also a factor: efficacy can be greatly reduced if the product is not used quickly – many biopesticide organisms begin to break down as soon as they are tank mixed. Also, be aware that it can be difficult (or impossible) to find suitable tank-mix partners. For example, a fungal biopesticide obviously shouldn’t be mixed with a fungicide. That also leads the applicator to consider their spray program carefully and clean their sprayers thoroughly between applications.

    Efficacy

    Applicators should understand how each biopesticide is supposed to control (or more likely, supress) pests. Many biopesticides have to be ingested or physically contact the pest. As such, they often need high application volumes to ensure sufficient coverage of all target surfaces. Many are slow to control the pest, so the applicator may mistakenly think the product is not working, and reapply unnecessarily.

    Application equipment

    Cleaning a strainer - image courtesy of M. Lanthier.
    Cleaning a strainer – image courtesy of M. Lanthier.

    Applicators may need to reconsider their current equipment when using biopesticides. If the product has to contact the pest, high droplet density is preferred. This can be accomplished with high volumes, but also with higher droplet counts, and that means smaller droplets. Drift issues aside, many biopesticides are actually living organisms (e.g. nematodes) which might be negatively affected by the small nozzle orifice.

    The “Spray Guy”, Dr. Jason Deveau, (Application Technology Specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) suggests using a nozzle with a larger exit orifice and no pre-orifice to minimize clogging or any potential damage to the microorganisms. Clogging can be further reduced by using a minimum of three levels of filtration on a sprayer. With proper agitation, a tank basket, suction filter at the pump and slotted strainers behind each tip should catch any “chunks”. In-line filters at the boom are also potentially helpful. Each filter, from tank to nozzle, should be filter smaller particles than the last. Cleaning screens diligently and inspecting the effectiveness of the agitation system, should be part of every spray day.

    Applicators can account for many of these issues by understanding what the biopesticide is and how it is intended to work. Consider these questions:

    • When is the pest active/vulnerable?
    • Under what conditions does the product need to be used to be most effective?
    • Are there special handling or mixing considerations?
    • What do I need to have in place to minimize the time between mixing and applying the product?

    Ultimately, an effective application of biopesticides relies on integrated pest management (IPM). Biopesticides can work as advertised when used thoughtfully and appropriately. Understanding the products benefits and limitations will ensure applicators reap the full benefits of these new and evolving methods of control.

  • A New Way to Purchase Sprayers

    A New Way to Purchase Sprayers

    I always await a trade show with excitement. Everyone’s going to be there, showing their latest and greatest. You see old friends. And of course, trade-show food. Every year, I search for the Fiddle Sticks I learned to love in the 80s. They’ve been replaced by the Pocket Dawg, it seems. Not the same.

    Touring around the sprayer and nozzle displays at this year’s Western Canada Farm Progress Show, I couldn’t help but notice that an old contrast got even more striking.

    As expected, sprayers are bigger and heavier than ever. The JD r4045 is an example, weighing in at 36,000 lbs, with a list of $563 k CDN. It’s not the only one, though, I just pick on John Deere because they can take it. They know it’s outrageous.

    Most sprayers are made by multinationals, with large engineering budgets, and they build complicated and sophisticated machines. They’re huge. They crush weeds. Their cost has often increased by double digits annually.

    Then it’s off to the nozzle manufacturers, for the contrast. Small booths nestled among other family businesses, staffed by the owners. Yes, most of the nozzles we use are produced by surprisingly small family-owned companies with just a handful of employees. They make their products on-shore. They have modest research budgets. They collaborate with each other and share components. And their products are priced very low. Not bad, considering the nozzle is the most important part of the sprayer (after the operator, of course).

    One can get a very good low-drift, air-induction nozzle for about $6.00. That’s close to the same price it was 10 years ago. Nozzles, engineered to remove small droplets with a two-stage venturi design offer good spray patterns between about 30 and 100+ psi. This means that a $450,000 sprayer with a 120 foot (36 m) boom requiring 72 nozzles can be outfitted with nozzles for a cost of $450 (0.1% of the sprayer cost) , or $1350 for a set of three.

    A very cool cut-away view of an Airmix nozzle.
    A very cool cut-away view of an Airmix nozzle.

    These nozzles have important tasks. They need to:

    • meter the pesticide mixture out accurately (within 5% or less of the target amount);
    • atomize the mixture into droplets that maximize coverage while minimizing drift and other waste
    • distribute the spray uniformly across the width of the boom.

    If nozzles miss on any one of these goals, producers pay with lower control, higher costs, or environmental contamination. So these little devices are important.

    We do see innovation in this important area, again from small companies. Devices designed to improve rate control (pulse-width modulation or variable rate nozzles), to reduce drift (PatternMaster), or to improve canopy penetration while increasing coverage and reducing drift (Wingssprayer) are appearing. While these aren’t cheap, they cost a fraction of what the sprayer costs, are light, and reliable.

    Harrie Hoeben holding a section of his Wingssprayer system.
    Harrie Hoeben holding a section of his Wingssprayer system.

    And they’re meeting with resistance because of a very peculiar response. Over the past 15 years, when a producer has heard the cost of a new sprayer, the sticker shock has made them walk away. But not far. They’ve returned shortly after to make the purchase. Need a new sprayer, right? Need high clearance, hydrostatics, air-ride, horsepower.

    But when they see the cost of even the most expensive atomization system (some as low as $4000, the most costly typically $20,000 to $40,000), they just shake their heads and walk away. Probably for good.

    TeeJet's pulse width modulation system - the DynaJet Flex 7120.
    TeeJet’s pulse width modulation system – the DynaJet Flex 7120.

    And yet it is this purchase that will probably pay the highest dividends. It’s this technology that can answer to the needs presented by heavy, fast tractor units. The $6.00 nozzle is out of its depths here. And the innovators need the sales so they can conduct proper research to give you the best value, and lower their costs.

    Capstan's new PWM solenoid for high-flow John Deere bodies.
    Capstan’s new PWM solenoid for high-flow John Deere bodies.

    A New Process

    How about we look at it this way: Budget for a new sprayer. Say you accept that it will cost about $440,000. This is the total amount you will spend. Now budget for a great delivery or atomization system. One that either improves coverage, decreases drift, improves consistency, or makes you more productive. Let’s go for the best one, and budget $40,000.

    Now don’t raise the cost of the investment by that amount, but instead make it inclusive. The sprayer’s tractor unit budget is reduced to $400,000 to accommodate the atomization system, for a total cost of $440 k, still within budget. You may need to re-evaluate the type of sprayer, or features, that you will be able to obtain with a 10% lower cost.

    Or perhaps you can take advantage in the slightly more desperate market situation for big iron and score a better deal. Buy used, or invest in your old sprayer to rehabilitate it.

    Either way, we need to start thinking differently. Within any given budget, let’s purchase the most important components first. Then let’s put wheels on it. And then, let’s get some Fiddle Sticks.

  • OMAFA Spray Drift Videos

    OMAFA Spray Drift Videos

    CropLife Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs partnered in 2012 to develop two educational videos on pesticide application best management practices in an effort to educate, and hopefully to reduce the incidents of spray drift.

    The first video, ‘What is Spray Drift?’, highlights the various causes of spray drift. The second video, ‘Equipment and Methods to Reduce Spray Drift’, focuses on how applicators can modify equipment to reduce spray drift. We have them in English and en Français.

    Watch drift happening during night spraying under high powered lights, see air induction nozzles prevent drift on a boom sprayer and learn about how spray particles behave from unique computer-animated segments. Also, enjoy the “rock-and-roll” soundtrack. You can’t image how difficult it was to get permission to use rock music in a gov’t-produced video!