Članek
Which spraying speed is the best for optimal deposit on plants?
Objavljeno Sep 23, 2016

Summary

Increased working speed (from 6 km/h to 9 km/h) didn't worsen the deposit in monitored parts of the tree. Furthermore, in some points of the tree the deposit was even better than in case of working with lower speed. This is shown by small differences in normalised deposit in different spots of the tree, after spraying with 6km/h or 9 km/h.
We cannot increase the working speed endlessly. We can increase it only to the speed which still allows enough penetration through the crown of the tree (some specialist say that the minimum speed of the airstream in the tree crown should be between 3 and 4 m/s). The experiment showed that the effect depends on adjusted airstream capacity to the air resistance and volume of the green wall.
The decision of increasing the working speed when spraying depends on interactive effect between sprayer characteristics, airstream produced by the sprayer, tree shape and nozzles used. When increasing spraying speed, we should also adjust the capacity of the fan. Increased spraying speed needs also higher air capacity, except if it is already too high in the beginning.
Based on many years of our experience, we can state that the majority of fruit farmers spray with too high airstream capacity and too low spraying speed!!!!
Every year the need of shorter response time becomes more important. The farmers aim to bigger cultivations which can become a problem. Higher driving speeds are one of solutions for effective work on bigger cultivations. But we have to be careful that the driving speed is still safe – we cannot drive faster if our cultivation and agricultural equipment doesn't allow this. In cultivations which allow higher driving speeds we can save time and we all know that time is money.
During our test we also learned that we can achieve similar deposit with anti-drift nozzles as with normal (ATR nozzles). In case of green wall with smaller density the deposit quality is a little lower but on the other hand in case of green wall with higher density the effect is reverse. The TVI nozzles aren’t a good choice when spraying with lower air capacity.
When using anti-drift nozzles with increased speed we have to pay attention to weather conditions, temperature, wind, humidity. With all this factors in mind we can achieve even better results.
Like we already stated: »Speed doesn’t kill, but time is money It is very important to find optimal speed which still allows us good results and combine it with right timing for spraying. This is a combination which will give us successful and effective plant protection (Niederholzer 2015).
P.s.: Once again, thanks to everyone who helped us with the experiment!!!!
Zupan Sprayers team wish You nice and successful weekend.