In the News - April 2008
Crop protection equipment invaluable for farmers, homeowners
BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Farmers and homeowners alike meet with confusion when
making decisions about crop protection equipment.
"Whether it’s field crops or ornamentals, equipment is used to apply products
intended to control bugs, diseases, and weeds and to apply fertilizers," said
Robert Seay, Benton County extension staff chair with the University of Arkansas
Division of Agriculture.
Some products are granular and the device used must measure a recommended
amount per acre or per 100 square foot, he said
Factory settings are good, but require trial and error once you get on site,
he said.
Most other products use water as the carrier, Seay said, in which case the
equipment must measure in gallons per acre or ounces per 100 square feet. An
exception is the application of products, usually for lawn and garden, where a
recommended dilution is applied in a "spray-to-wet" pattern. In this case,
foliage is treated until wet and you move along.
Spray equipment of any size usually requires a tank for holding volume and
for transport, spray tips to meter output, which can be mounted on a boom, head,
or at the end of a wand; and a pressure regulator and bypass valve.
"Booms are used for making precise applications and allow spray to be
released closer to the ground, which reduces the risk of drift," Seay said.
Spray tips can be selected based on the amount of water volume needed and to
alter nozzle spacing along the boom. However, when used on uneven or sloped
surfaces and when working around posts, trees, brush and briars, booms are a
pain.
The boom-buster spray tip provides more flexibility when working in the same
scenario noted above.
Seay said a rule of thumb is, "If you can drive the tractor or ATV between or
over it, you can spray it with a boom-buster." Drift is always an issue when the
height of the spray release has to be increased, such as with a boom buster or
cluster-nozzle set-up.
"Better spray equipment is now on the market, designed specifically for
mounting on, or behind an ATV," Seay said. "Whether spraying small acreages,
spot spraying thistle or managing wildlife food plots, ATV equipment now offers
more possibilities for impacting crop protection applications."
"Even crusty old farmers garden, and there’s a wide selection of equipment
and products available to make this life-sustaining effort more enjoyable," he
said.
Hose end sprayers have been around for years and more products are being
marketed with the sprayer ‘built into’ the product container, he noted.
For more information on spray equipment for home or farm, contact your county
extension agent. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A
Division of Agriculture.
April 4, 2008
Media Contact: Lamar James
Extension Communications Specialist
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2187 or (501) 753-0207
ljames@uaex.edu
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