ReCalibrating Your Sprayer Throughout the Growing Season 

Farmers should calibrate sprayers once before the spraying season starts and recalibrate them frequently throughout the spraying season to ensure their accuracy, according to Erdal Ozkan, PhD, an agricultural engineering professor who also has appointments with Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC).

As he writes in this post, the primary goal with calibration is to determine the actual rate of application in gallons per acre, then to make adjustments if the difference between the actual rate and the intended rate is greater or less than 5% of the intended rate. This guideline is recommended by USEPA and USDA. Read the full post below to learn more.

 

 

This post by Erdal Ozkan, PhD was published by C.O.R.N. (March 2016) and is reprinted with full permission

Calibrate Your Sprayer Now - Here Is an Easy Way to Do It

Check all the components of the sprayer to make sure they are in working order...the only way you can achieve maximum accuracy from a sprayer is by calibrating it once before the spraying season starts, and recalibrating it frequently throughout the spraying season. While applying too little pesticide may result in ineffective pest control, too much pesticide wastes money, may damage the crop and increases the potential risk of contaminating ground water and environment. The primary goal with calibration is to determine the actual rate of application in gallons per acre, then to make adjustments if the difference between the actual rate and the intended rate is greater or less than 5% of the intended rate. This is a recommended guideline by USEPA and USDA.

Before starting calibration, make sure you have a good set of nozzles on the sprayer. Nozzles wear out through extended use causing over application, or some nozzles may be plugged. Clean all the plugged nozzles. Check the output of all the nozzles for a given length of time at a given spray pressure. Compare output from each nozzle’s output with the expected output shown in the nozzle catalog for that nozzle at the same pressure. Replace the nozzles showing an output error of more than 10% of the output of the new nozzle. Once you do this, now you are ready to calibrate your sprayer. 

Calibrating a boom sprayer is not as difficult as it sounds. There are several ways to calibrate a sprayer. Regardless of which method you choose, it usually doesn’t take more than 30 minutes, and only three things are needed: a timer (or watch or smart phones) showing seconds, a measuring tape, and a jar graduated in ounces. Here, I will describe perhaps the easiest of all the methods to calibrate a sprayer.

To calibrate a boom sprayer for broadcast applications using this method, follow these steps:

1. Fill the sprayer tank (at least half full) with water.
2. Run the sprayer, inspect it for leaks, and make sure all vital parts function properly. 
3. Measure the distance in inches between the nozzles.
4. Measure an appropriate travel distance in the field based on this nozzle spacing. The appropriate distances for different nozzle spacing is as follows: 408 ft for a 10-inch spacing, 272 ft for a 15-inch spacing, 204 ft for 20-inch spacing, 136 feet for a 30-inch spacing, and 102 feet for a 40-inch spacing.
5. Drive through the measured distance in the field at your normal spraying speed, and record the travel time in seconds. Repeat this procedure and average the two measurements.
6. With the sprayer parked, run the sprayer at the same pressure level and catch the output from each nozzle in a measuring jar for the travel time required in step 5 above.
7. Calculate the average nozzle output by adding the individual outputs and then dividing by the number of nozzles tested. The final average nozzle output in ounces you get is equal to the application rate in gallons per acre. For example, if you catch 15 ounces from a set of nozzles, the actual application rate of the sprayer is equal to 15 gallons per acre.
8. Compare the actual application rate with the recommended or intended rate. If the actual rate is more than 5 percent higher or lower than the recommended or intended rate, you must make adjustments in either the spray pressure or the travel speed or in both. For example, to increase the flow rate you will need to either slow down, or increase the spray pressure. The opposite is true when you need to reduce application rate. As you make these changes stay within proper and safe operating condition of the sprayer. Remember increased pressure will result in increasing the number of small, drift-prone droplets.
9. Repeat steps 5-8 above until the recommended application error of +5%  or less is achieved. 

Got a question or a comment to share? Leave it for us in the comment box below. 

Read More

 

Steps for Effective Weed Control 

Contributed by Guest Blogger: Martin McGuane, owner and operator of McGuanes Landscaping and Tree Service, Enfield CT

Identifying Weeds

When taking on the task of controlling weeds, one of the first things that you need to do is to identify the weed you are controlling, and the environment the weed is in. For example, are you controlling Dandelions in a lawn or Common Purslane in a stone bed?

If you cannot identify the weed, consider contacting your local agricultural experiment station. For those of us in Ct our can be found here. We have consulted ours many times over the years for help in identifying weeds and insects. We have also obtained training manuals for our employees from them.

Some herbicides are best used pre-emergent, while some are best used post-emergent. Some herbicides are selective (meaning they only kill certain weeds) and some are non-selective (meaning they kill everything that it comes in contact with).

The next step is to select the appropriate herbicide and make sure the weed to be controlled is on the label. When using any herbicide be sure to read the WHOLE LABEL! The label will tell you what rate and when to apply the herbicide. Make sure to use all recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) and follow proper disposal techniques for your empty containers and unused material.

In some of our later blog entries, we will be demonstrating how to properly calibrate your sprayer so that you can be confident that you are applying the proper rate of herbicide.

Read More

What is a JD9-C Spray Gun?

The JD9-C spray gun is one of the most popular spray guns used in the spray industry. It's a heavy duty spray gun with a max of 1,000 psi. Adjustable from a fine mist to a long distance pencil stream by turning the barrel, the JD9-C spray gun has a convenient trigger lock for continuous spraying and comes with various interchangeable spray nozzles and tips.

Read More