T ls T ys. 120 Foot Boyd Aluminum Booms on a 3 Point Hitch Bob Tail Center Rack (Photo: Northern Equipment)

Transcription

1 T ls T ys 120 Foot Boyd Aluminum Booms on a 3 Point Hitch Bob Tail Center Rack (Photo: Northern Equipment) Dr. Jason Deveau OMAFRA Application Technology Specialist Winter 2015

2 Working to reduce pesticide wastage and off-target contamination Developing methods to spray crops consistently Developing educational resources for sprayer Spray_Guy

3 Defining sprayer advancements Technologies: Equipment or chemistries that make spraying safer, easier, more efficient or more effective Methods: Techniques to improve a spray application (or a sprayer operator) Regulations: Company, municipal or federal rules that positively impact spray applications

4 So, sprayer advancements are not just nifty gadgets...but they re very cool, so let s look at a bunch of them!

5 istock Disclaimer I m not endorsing anything you see here, nor am I condemning anything you don t see here I just thought these tools were worth sharing

6 Watch for these symbols and remind me if I miss showing you a model, a demo, or forget to point you to more information

7 Photos: Pentair HyPro Pentair (HyPro) Duo React Each dual body has a manual turret The operator can switch between the two tips from the cab e.g. switch fertilizer to fungicide, conventional flat fan to air induced or switch to dual fans

8 Water / Oil sensitive paper Yellow cards turn blue when sprayed Show coverage (or no coverage), spray drift, & sprayer contamination Cheap, effective and my favourite spray tool

9 Photo : Dean Scott K-B Agritech Pattern-Master Brushes Mounted in front of the nozzle to cut apparent windspeed and preserve the finer portion of the spray pattern: more coverage, less drift

10 Currently in testing in the US Photo: Northern Equipment

11 Work and photo by Dean Scott

12 Photo: Wingssprayer Wingssprayer (floating shields) These shields block oncoming wind, flexing as they lightly drag the crop surface to open the canopy and reduce the nozzleto-crop distance Four years in Europe: coming to Canada?

13 Claims 15-30% dose reduction Photo: Wingssprayer

14 Claims reduced buffer zones Photo: Wingssprayer

15 Photo: Wingssprayer Claims improved coverage

16 Air-Assist Booms Air opens crop canopies, improves overall coverage, reduces drift, and extends the spray window in light winds AirTec Sprayer (Collins operation, Orangeville)

17 Air-Assist Works I ve seen air double or triple coverage

18 Photo: Hardi Photo: Househam Here s a Househam (UK) that recently shipped to Israel Why aren t we using air booms in Canada? The Hardi Commander, Twin, Ranger & other models have optional air available now

19 Images: TeeJet TeeJet 6140 & 6120 Sentries 6140 Tip Flow Monitor 6120 Droplet Size Monitor

20 Photo: TeeJet Photo: TeeJet 6140 Tip Flow Monitor Normal Spraying XR11004VS 40 PSI/2.75 BAR.4 GPM L/min Partially Blocked XR11004VS 40 PSI/2.75 BAR.18 GPM -.68 L/min Detects plugged tips, highand low-flow errors

21 This could replace hard-to-read floats Flow meter installation at each nozzle Simple LCD touchscreen Audible alarm for full blockage, partial blockage or increased flow by nozzle For planters, sprayers, fertilizer applications

22 Images: CDS John Blue Electronic Liquid Blockage System Monitor (CDS John Blue Company) Alternatives Safeguard Blockage Monitor (Micro-Trak Systems) Image: Micro-Trak Both rely on float systems

23 Droplet size 101 Nozzle droplet size affects coverage and drift We (should) use catalogues to figure our average droplet size from our pressure and nozzle choice increasingly, labels specify VMD (D v0.5 )

24 6120 Drop Size Monitor Normal Spraying XR11004VS 40 PSI/2.75 BAR.4 GPM L/min Real-time drop size display of TeeJet nozzles (exclusively) Simple installation and setup Highlights the drop size changes with Auto rate controllers

25 Spray mix viscosity can change nozzle output by as much as 30% from catalogue specs, and changes VMD too Now there might be a way to check quickly, without a room full of lasers CoralTec D30

26 Wireless Portable No calibration

27 Originally intended for industry, it samples droplet size and records the D v0.3. Good for gov t regulators, large operations and custom applicators? They re working to bring it to agriculture (D v0.1, D v0.5 & D v0.9 ). Stay tuned!

28 How do you keep a 120 foot boom at 20 inches at 20 mph? Auto-level boom systems Slow down and drive on level ground? Not always popular or possible

29 Images: Greentronics Uses existing electricover-hydraulic, so easy install Ultrasonic sensors near boom ends More consistent spray height Better coverage Reduced Drift Less operator stress & fatigue in low light Greentronics Rite-Height (also Norac, Trimble, Raven, etc.)

30 Shrouds Shrouds may reduce drift, but they obscure nozzles, create a lot of drag and can be very heavy unless you can find a way to reduce boom weight Photo: Northern Equipment

31 Photo: Boyd Photo: Boyd Boyd Super Booms Telescopes from 74 to 150 to cover any width on-the-fly 45-65% weight reduction v. steel Pound for pound, aluminum is stronger Extend an existing boom

32 Boyd Bobtail Center Rack Start lopsided and adjust each boom independently or leave one in the cradle Photo: Boyd One grower in the Dakotas: 25 mph, no auto-adjust on 150 boom on a Case 4400 and the drone they used for videotaping couldn t keep up!

33 Pentair (HyPro) Express Boom Assembly Reselling a sprayer with sagging, contaminated poly lines? Retrofit it! 1, sched. 5, SS pipe with no threads Two guys can do a 90 boom, in 2 hours

34 Photo: Custom Concepts Custom Concepts Accu Volume Maybe you ve seen the Hub Cover for easy cleaning and to protect crops Perhaps you ve seen the Brush Guard that protects the last 4 tips Photo: Custom Concepts

35 Photo: Custom Concepts Custom Concepts Accu Volume What s in your tank? Are you sure? 28% can lift trapped water in the sight tube and throw it off by up to 200 g. The sprayer angle (grade) could create g difference during filling some gauges already out ~25 g!

36 Custom Concepts Accu Volume No more running short or overbatching No more extra trips in and out of the field from running short No more diluting remaining solutions and spraying out additional product Digital display, in cab and at load station

37 ATI Agritronics Spray Nozzle Lights The operator can assess flow and tip pattern in poor light (beware inversions) The transport system (not pictured) helps others see the sprayer more clearly

38 Pentair (HyPro) Express End Caps Eliminates dead ends that retain pesticide during cleanout

39 Reproduced from Pentair Literature Perhaps more importantly, air aspirators mean faster shut-off valve operation

40 Johnson s Peek-A-Boom Easily-installed, remote controlled boom-section shut off system. Perform timed-output tests safely and easily ATI Agritronics offers a similar, smartphonecontrolled system

41 Applimax Spray Performance Kit

42 Innoquest Master Applicator Kit

43 Innoquest & Applimax Nozzle calibration systems Both much better than the pitcher & stopwatch approach ~ +/- 2.5% accuracy and will gauge even a hollow cone s output (US G/min, L/min or Oz/min) in ~10-45 sec

44 Nozzles (of course) Too many choices!!! Amazing what you can do with only a few nozzles, if used correctly We ll limit Nozzle Head discussion to two interesting innovations: PWM and twin-fans

45 P.W.M. Pulse Width Modulation eliminates the rate-controller problem AND allows for spray quality control on-the-fly Here s how it works

46 P.W.M.

47 P.W.M.

48 P.W.M.

49 P.W.M.

50 Twin Fans (e.g. asymmetricals) Greenleaf TADF TeeJet 3070 Albuz AVI

51 How to use Twin Fans (Derived mostly from work by Dave Hooker and Tom Wolf) Higher volumes improve coverage (to a threshold of diminishing return) Coarser droplets improve vertical coverage Maintaining the lowest operable boom height improves coverage Angled sprays do improve coverage on vertical targets Ground speed may or may not affect coverage

52 and there s so much more (Chlorophyll sensors, Drone scouting, Liquid propane flamers, Direct injection ) This was too much, too quickly, but hopefully it inspires you to find out more. For more information, go to: Jason spray_guy Tom nozzle_guy

53 Boyd Aluminum Boom Thank You to the Contributors ATI Agritronics (AppliMax Products) Coraltec (D30) Custom Concepts (Accu volume / Hub Cover) Innoquest Inc. (Master Applicator Kit) Johnson s Innovations (Peek-A-Boom) K-B Agritech (Pattern Master Brushes) Northern Equipment (Boyd Aluminum Boom) Pentair HyPro (End Caps, Duo React, and more) TeeJet (Sentry 6140 & 6120, AI3070, and more) Wingssprayer (Wingssprayer shields)