The calibration of handheld plot sprayers is an important part of agricultural research, and this article already covers all the bases… as long as you are spraying broadacre or row crops. But what happens when you are trying to emulate an airblast sprayer and treating a tree, bush, cane or vine? The key difference is […]
Read More… from Calibrating a Plot Sprayer for Airblast Crops
Greenhouse Insects The aesthetic value of ornamental plants requires a near-zero tolerance for insect pests, which cause up to 10% of crop losses per season. Controlling them with insecticides is a difficult proposition: Key pests such as thrips, aphids and whiteflies tend to feed on the underside of leaves – a notoriously difficult surface to […]
Read More… from Air-Assisted Spraying in Greenhouse Ornamentals
In Part One of this article, we showed that approximately 40% of minor use label expansions and registrant submissions rely on data from hand booms and guns. We also showed that a hydraulic backpack or knapsack will not give the same coverage as an airblast sprayer, and we concluded by suggesting that small plot researchers use […]
Read More… from Should Backpack Sprayers be Used to Test Airblast Products? – Part 2
Peer-reviewed journal publications claim there is a significant difference in spray coverage and deposition patterns when an agrichemical product is applied using an airblast sprayer versus a hydraulic hand boom. An airblast sprayer creates Fine droplets that shear in entraining air and are carried into a plant canopy. Properly calibrated, the air opens the canopy […]
Read More… from Should Backpack Sprayers be Used to Test Airblast Products? – Part 1