Thanks for the advice everyone. I will likely go with an airblast as it will also be needed for the peaches. As far as dealers go, I am out of luck. Not much call for that type of sprayer in Tennessee. I bought my current 3pt airblast from Indiana.
Tatum Stewart Stewart Orchard On Fri, Mar 27, 2015 at 4:53 PM, maurice tougas <appleman.maur...@gmail.com> wrote: > Great advice from Dave and Peter. Let me add one more, which for me has > been the most important. Buy from a dealer who will be there when you need > him for service and parts. A downed sprayer is worthless! > > Mo Tougas > Northborough,MA > > > On Fri, Mar 27, 2015 at 11:48 AM, David A. Rosenberger <da...@cornell.edu> > wrote: > >> I agree with Peter Werts' comments. At the Hudson Valley Lab, Peter >> Jentsch and I set up a tall spindle orchard (3 ft X 11 Ft) about 5 years >> ago. We decided to spray it with a home-made vertical boom attached to a >> 3-pt hitch Pac-Tank sprayer, using air-induction nozzles as Peter Werts >> suggested. When we looked at coverage following applications of Surround, >> it appeared that we were getting pretty decent coverage on 3 and 4 year old >> trees. However, the reason that I would not recommend this to others is >> that effective coverage without the air-assist is dependent on using water >> rather than air as the propellant. Because we need to maintain high >> pressure at the nozzles to get a decent trajectory of the spray droplets, >> we found that we needed a minimum of 150 to 200 gallons of water per acre, >> depending on travel speed of the sprayer. Even on small blocks of 3 to 5 >> acres, the need to refill the sprayer so frequently is a real >> disadvantage. As I recall, at the time we built our sprayer, the air >> induction nozzles had a some limitations that meant we could not set them >> up to deliver really small quantities per minute, and that limit along >> with the need for pressure to create a droplet trajectory, made it >> impossible to develop a low-volume boom sprayer for the tall spindle >> spacing. We might have been able to use less water if we used conventional >> nozzles to create a mist, but then the small spray droplets would not have >> had enough mass to penetrate the tree canopy. >> >> I much prefer to spray our small orchard blocks with our 3-pt hitch >> TurboTeuton mist blower which we have calibrated to deliver 50 gal of >> spray per acre, although one could deliver much higher volumes if desired. >> The tank on our model holds about 130 gal of water, but the same kind of >> sprayer design is available in a trailer-mounted design. (I’m sure that >> there are many other sprayers that could be set up to accomplish the same >> things that I have described above. I’m not trying to promote any one >> brand, just relating personal experience.) The advantages of this sprayer >> (from my perspective) are that >> (1) it is a tower sprayer with an infinite number of adjustments >> for height, angles of air delivery, nozzle arrangements, etc.. >> (2) We can maintain uniform output and nozzle pressure at >> relatively low fan speeds. That means we can use lower PTO speeds while >> maintaining calibration so long as we use higher gears to maintain ground >> speed. I found that I can operate this sprayer at three different gear/RPM >> settings while maintaining 3 mph ground speed. The lower RPM is very useful >> for small trees on a calm morning whereas higher RPM is necessary to fight >> wind or cover larger trees. >> (3) The sprayer is relatively quiet compared to most air blast >> sprayers, and that is a real advantage for orchards that are close to >> neighbors. I wish we had a standard comparison of sprayer decibel levels >> when the sprayers are operating at comparable RPMs because small growers >> with noise-sensitive neighbors should certainly consider the noise factor >> when purchasing a sprayer. >> >> The disadvantage of the TurboTeuton that we have is that it does not >> move enough air to fight winds greater than about 6-8 mph, and for that >> reason it will not work well on large trees or in orchards with rows more >> than about 15-18 ft apart. However, I am convinced that tower sprayers >> are essential for spraying tall spindle orchards with minimal drift. >> >> ******************************************** >> Dave Rosenberger, Plant Pathologist, >> Hudson Valley Lab, P.O. Box 727, Highland, NY 12528 >> Cell: 845-594-3060 >> http://blogs.cornell.edu/plantpathhvl/blog-2014/ >> ******************************************** >> >> On Mar 27, 2015, at 10:29 AM, Peter Werts <pwe...@ipminstitute.org> >> wrote: >> >> Hi Tatum, >> >> I have calibrated 20+ airblast sprayers in Minnesota and Wisconsin over >> the last two years, many for growers with tall spindle systems. I still >> think the airblast sprayer is still the way to go. There is much you can >> do with sprayer calibration to improve performance and accuracy of >> pesticide deposition. I received my training from seminars led by Dr. >> Andrew Landers, Ag engineer at Cornell. I think his work is right on >> target to address your questions. If you have the time to research and >> read about your options I would get his book, “Effective Vineyard >> Spraying”, http://effectivespraying.com/. This publication offers an >> in-depth review of all sorts of sprayer technology and how to select for >> your production system. >> >> A couple considerations could include: >> 1. Look for an airblast sprayer with an adjustable fan speed or a lower >> fan speed. Reducing the fan speed will help you keep your sprays on >> target! I know AgTec makes a vineyard sprayer with a lower fan speed. The >> AgTec’s have been real popular in the upper Midwest, though I don’t think >> they are the standard in New England or Mid Atlantic. This sprayer from >> Durand Wayland is an example of a rig with a multi-speed gear box for the >> fan and the option for a tower attachment, >> http://durand-wayland.com/spraying/redline_600HP.html >> >> 2. Buy a sprayer that will allow you to use air-induction nozzles. >> Air-induction nozzles encapsulate little bubbles of air inside the droplet, >> creating a larger droplet less prone to drift. When this larger droplet >> makes contact with the plant surface, it breaks into smaller droplets. >> >> 3. Regarding your concerns for pesticide drift to neighboring organic >> farms, proper calibration is essential regardless of what sprayer you >> purchase. Additionally, documenting your air temperature, wind speed and >> direction, on days you spray will demonstrate your awareness of this risk >> to the neighbors and may help mitigate accusations of drift, if such >> unfortunate events occur. >> >> >> >> Thanks, >> >> Peter >> >> >> ============================= >> Peter Werts >> Project Manager >> Specialty Crops >> IPM Institute of North America, Inc. >> 1020 Regent St. >> Madison WI 53715 >> Office: 608 232-1410 >> Cell: 612 518-0319 >> Fax: 608 232-1440 >> pwe...@ipminstitute.org >> www.ipminstitute.org >> >> >> >> *From:* apple-crop-boun...@virtualorchard.net [ >> mailto:apple-crop-boun...@virtualorchard.net >> <apple-crop-boun...@virtualorchard.net>] *On Behalf Of *Tatum Stewart >> *Sent:* Thursday, March 26, 2015 3:07 PM >> *To:* apple-crop@virtualorchard.net >> *Subject:* [apple-crop] Airblast Sprayer for Tall Spindle? >> >> I have a small (3 acres) established orchard on M7 that I have worked >> for about 10 years. I have some new land about 15 miles away that I have >> began planting a new orchard using the Tall Spindle method. I only have >> about one acre planted now, but it will end up being about 5 acres of >> apples as PYO. I also have peaches and blackberries. >> >> I have been planning on purchasing a new airblast sprayer for the new >> orchard in the future so that I don't have to haul it and my tractor back >> and forth from each place. And it is hard to get good spray timing when >> the sprayer is at the other orchard. >> >> However, do I need an airblast with the tall spindle system? With the >> M7 trees and bigger you need the air to push through the tree to ensure >> good coverage, but with the M9s the canopy is so much smaller. Could you >> not use a tower type sprayer with-out the airblast? Drift would be greatly >> reduced (a big deal with organic farms on surrounding my property), Tractor >> requirements would be less allowing for tighter row spacing, and obviously >> the cost would be less. >> >> What would be the down side? Poor coverage of the underside of the >> leaves due to no swirling air? Droplet size too large? >> >> Thanks >> >> Tatum Stewart >> Stewart Orchard >> Ashland City and Nashville, TN >> _______________________________________________ >> apple-crop mailing list >> apple-crop@virtualorchard.net >> http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> apple-crop mailing list >> apple-crop@virtualorchard.net >> http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop >> >> > > > -- > Maurice Tougas > Tougas Family Farm > Northborough,MA 01532 > 508-450-0844 > > _______________________________________________ > apple-crop mailing list > apple-crop@virtualorchard.net > http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop > >
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