Exploding Sprayer Myths (ep.10): Airblast Coverage

Here in Episode 10 of Exploding Sprayer Myths we’ve coaxed @Nozzle_Guy back into the orchard. This is part two of a two-part mini series on airblast calibration. In Episode 9 we talked about air settings and travel speed, and now we’re tackling nozzling and coverage. But here’s the twist: Rather than use spray math to […]

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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 Airblast Spray Droplets Behave (or Misbehave)

Some pesticide labels require or prohibit certain droplet sizes to reduce the potential for drift. But, even when labels are silent about size restrictions, operators should be aware of the potential for droplet size to affect coverage. In the case of airblast, droplets should be: Once spray leaves the nozzle, the operator has no more […]

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Spraying Large Nut Trees – Part 2

This article continues from Part 1. Droplet size Droplet size influences droplet behaviour. The following table lists the pros and cons to changing droplet size when overall spray volume (e.g. L/ha) remains constant. Relative Spray Quality Pros Cons Coarser Droplets Lower drift potential because they resist deflection by wind and evaporation from heat and low […]

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Spraying Large Nut Trees – Part 1

Introduction I’ve studied spray applications in a diversity of crops, both broad acre and specialty, but perhaps nothing is as challenging large tree nut canopies. Australia’s macadamia orchards can form >10 metre high, >4 metre deep canopy walls! So in writing this article I face the opposite situation I normally encounter when advising on airblast […]

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