ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
WASHINGTON, D.C. Eco
nomic and environmental advan
tages of sprayer calibration are
many. But many farmers may not
calibrate as often or as accurately
as they should, according to the
Alliance for a Clean Rural
Environment.
The Alliance is is an organiza
tion to encourage environmental
stewardship and protect water
quality, supported by the manufac
turers of America’s crop protec
tion chemicals.
According to the Alliance,
many practices we can adopt to
help safeguard water quality from
contamination by crop protection
chemicals are common sense,
including protecting wellheads
from spills, rinsing containers, use
of soil conservation farming
methods, etc. But common sense
may not be enough for calibrating
sprayers.
The Alliance indicates that
recent studies in several states
have found that as many as one out
of every three sprayers is miscall
brated by as much as 30 percent
Wrong pressure, wrong ground
speed, and worn or damaged spray
tips are common.
According to Fact Sheet Num
ber 11, available from the
Alliance, calibration errors add
excess chemical costs, reduced
yield because of pests if the chemi
cal is underapplied, crop damage if
the chemical is overapplied, and
increased potential for water
contamination.
A way to calibrate the sprayers
more accurately is essential.
Farmers can now write for a free
sprayer calibration card in order to
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help them meet their production
and environmental goals, said Pat
rick B. Haggerty, director of the
Alliance. (See address at end of
story.) Here’s how farmers can
calibrate their sprayers accurately
and easily, through 10 steps out
lined in the Fact Sheet by the
Alliance:
1. Fill your sprayer tank with
water. Only use clean water to
calibrate.
2. Measure the distance
between the nozzles on your spray
boom.
3. Choose the Test Course
Length (iii feet) from the chart
included here, which corresponds
to your nozzle spacing. For
directed and band rings, use the
rowspacing of the Held you plan to
spray. Carefully measure the
appropriate course distance in the
field and mark for easy visibility.
Nozzle Spacing Test Course
(inches) Length (feet)
4. Drive the test course at your
normal spraying speed. Be sure to
operate all equipment. Record the
seconds required to drive the mea
sured distance. For greatest accu
racy, do the speed check with the
spray tank half full. Be sure to take
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a “running start” at the starting flag
so that your tractor/sprayer reaches
the desired spraying speed before
you begin timing.
S. Paik your tractor/sprayer but
keep the engine rpm at the same
setting used to drive the test
course.
6. Set the desired pressure on
your sprayer (this will vary with
the type of spray tips you use and
the gallons per minute you wish to
spray through them. Consult the
spray chart for the tips you have
chosen).
7. Using a plastic container
marked in ounces (a baby bottle or
measuring cup works fine), collect
the water sprayed from one nozzle
during the same amount of time
that it took you to drive between
the flags on your test course.
8. Measure the flow of each
nozzle on the boom to assure uni
form distribution. If the flow rate
of any tip is 10 percent greater or
less than that of the others, replace
it. If two or more are faulty, replace
all tips on the entire boom. At
about $3 each, the total cost is
small compared to the avoided
problems and dollars you will be
saving by replacing defective tips.
Whatever type of spray lip you
choose, be sure to use all the same
type on your boom.
1.
im?iv
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9. The amount of water
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lected in ounces per nozzle equals
gallons per acre applied. Vary the
sprayer pressure slightly to fine
tune your overall sprayer output.
10. Be sure to read the product
label for proper application
information.
Getting your sprayer ready for
spring spraying generally involves
three steps: cleaning strainers, exa
mining the pump and valves, and
checking for leaks, according to
the Alliance. Follow these steps:
1. Clean the line strainer and all
tip strainers, and examine the tips
for obvious signs of clogging or
damage. Use only a soft bristled
toothbrush to clean the lips a
wooden toothpick or paper clip can
severely damage the finely
machined thin edges around the
spray tip orifice. It’s a good idea to
replace all spray tips about every
two years, and more frequently if
col-
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2. Check the casing of the cen
trifugal pump for cracks caused by
freezing of water left in the pump
over winter. While the pump is
running, check the throttling val
ves. The pressure gauge should
move as you turn the throttling
valve if it is working properly.
3. Check the hoses and hose
clamps for splits and leaks by run
ning the pump with various combi
nations of valves closed or partial
ly closed to increase the line
pressure.
For more information and to
obtain a free spayer calibration
card, send a stamped, self
addressed envelope to Lancaster
Farming/Alliance Fora Clean Rur
al Environment, P.O. Box 200,
Bowie. MD 20719-0200.