Jason Deveau (Spray Guy) – Page 17

Compulsory, Standardized Sprayer Inspections

Posted on February 11, 2021 (October 9, 2024)

Spring always brings renewed interest in sprayer calibration. This is good, because a well-maintained and calibrated sprayer will protect crops more effectively and efficiently, as well as reduce the potential for off-target drift and point source contamination. Presently, there is no nationally-recognized standard for sprayer calibration in either Canada or the United States. As a result […]

Optimizing Sprayer Air Settings – Part 2

Posted on January 25, 2021 (August 20, 2021)

This is part two of a two part article on how to optimize the match between the sprayer air and the target canopy. You can find the first part here. For a more fulsome description of the process, consult chapters 3, 9, 10, and 11 of Airblast101. Evaluating air energy – Ribbon test part 2 […]

Optimizing Sprayer Air Settings – Part 1

Posted on January 25, 2021 (August 20, 2021)

This is part one of a two part article on how to optimize the match between the sprayer air and the target canopy. For a more fulsome description of the process, consult chapters 3, 9, 10, and 11 of Airblast101. Why is air so important? Air handling is the most important and least understood mechanical […]

Tortured Numbers: Basic Statistics for Growers

Posted on January 21, 2021 (December 1, 2022)

In North America, winter is agriculture conference and lecture season. Growers are inundated with graphs and charts and left to make sense of what they’re seeing. It might be an agrichemical rep promoting a new pesticide or a seed dealer comparing yields. Maybe an equipment dealer is illustrating return on investment. Even university researchers and government extension […]

Homegrown Sprayer Rebuild – Fixed Tower

Posted on January 18, 2021 (August 20, 2021)

It was Saturday morning in April, 2016 when I received an email from Steven Bierlink, an orchardist in Washington State. He was curious about the impact of air induction nozzles on lime-sulphur applications (intended to thin apple blossoms). Work-life balance notwithstanding, I happily grabbed a hot cup of coffee and we got on the phone. It […]