Tom specializes in spray technology research & helps applicators meet their goals across Canada. U of Manitoba, Ohio State.
#sprayers101
#SpotSpray
🇨🇦 🇩🇪
The sprayer industry needs a reset. Take a drive-train & boom, remove all plumbing. Bring in some fresh engineers & task with plumbing design to minimize rubber hose length and valves, maximize stainless, & minimize remaining volume. Waste free prime, easy clean, fast fill. Go!
To check the distribution of a fertilizer spread,
@Amazone
developed the
#EasyCheck
system. A rubber mat captures the pills and their distribution is photographed via the app. Images are then analyzed and the transverse distribution is shown. No pans, no weighing.
"The plant on the left was raised alone, the plant on the right had a conversation with a weed. No contact whatsoever above or below ground. Just a conversation. And it's dead now", says
@swan5477
, speaking about weed presence induced plant physiology changes.
#CWSS18
Imagine a sprayer filter housing that you can inspect w/o opening it. And can open w/o a tool. And can vent and pump dry before opening to avoid mess. And has the surface area for a reasonable service interval. Simple improvements that should be called ... Productivity tools.
Waiting for
#Agritechnica
doors to open on Sunday morning, one of many entrances. It's the least busy day at
#Agritechnica
they said. Thankfully the grounds contain about 30 halls covering one square mile.
One of the coolest innovations is from radar manufacturer MSO. The have a sensor that generates a composite picture of each nozzle's spray pattern. If a nozzle deviates by a set amount, it warns.
#Agritechnica19
The biggest sprayers in the world are made in Europe. Both
@HORSCH_Canada
and
@Agrifac
have the largest tanks and Agrifac has the widest booms. They're not the heaviest, though. And they are also the most well designed and sophisticated machines on the market.
#AIM23
The
@xarviodf
Smart Sprayer simulator at
#Agritechnica19
. A collaboration with Bosch and
@Amazone
, ready in 2021. The algorithms of it, and
@BlueRiver
, seem to be moving towards inverse detection. See all green, positively identify crop, remainder must be weeds, right?
"You know Flat Fan and Flood Jet and Pulse Width and Wilger;
Hypro and Greenleaf and TeeJet and Lechler.
But do you recall
The most famous nozzle of all?"
You know what to do with this,
@twistedironfarm
⬇️
If you're at
#agdays18
looking at sprayers, ask:
1. What's the cleanout procedure?
2. What's the sprayer's remaining volume after pump runs dry?
3. How low can the boom be at 16 mph in
#westman
, really?
4. What's pressure drop from the sensor to nozzle?
5. How much is it, again?
The most common question I'm asked is "what nozzles should I get for my sprayer?" It's important to get this right. I answer in this post, breaking it into four steps, with links to all the major products that should be considered.
#Sprayers101
#spray20
As a rule, choose the coarsest spray quality that still provides adequate coverage and efficacy. Do this to slow droplet evaporation and minimize spray drift.
Here's a handy table to guide your decisions for major mode of action groups.
#Sprayers101
The spray industry has offloaded the responsibility for drift management on nozzle manufacturers and operators. It's asking too much.
#Sprayers101
#Spray20
If you're new to the sprayer world, here is a cheat sheet for the ISO colour coding of nozzles. You can even use it to ballpark a nozzle selection or application rate if you don't have a proper chart. We've based it at speeds of 10 for easier conversion.
#Spray19
The
@Agrifac
&
@BilberryAgri
partnership has arrived in Saskatchewan at
#AIM22
. Three Green on Green algorithms (grasses in canola, broadleaves in cereals, and both in corn) are available, more coming soon. Camera 3 m spacing, 2-3 cm weed diameter guaranteed, maybe smaller.
Look, I'll pay $3.25 for a good latte once in a while. And $8.00 for a pint of craft. But $4.99 for a jug of windshield wiper antifreeze? That's where I draw the line.
This is Florian Thiess, my Grade 4 teacher, & me in February 1975. I had told him we were moving to Canada & he said, I know some English, I can teach you. So we spent one hour after school each afternoon for 5 days going over the basics. Took this pic on the last day. Gratitude.
Next time someone calls me about a serious drift incident, I'm sending thoughts and prayers and will say that this is not the time to talk about those fine nozzles on their sprayer.
Update on Green on Green (GoG) optical spot spray (OSS) technology at
#Agritechnica19
(thread) . Background here:
Five sprayer manufacturers provided information
@AGRITECHNICA
.
Fact: glyphosate is a 5 pH most spray water is 7.5pH and ties up glyphosate from doing its job. Don’t get caught Paying for high priced solutions. Let us save you money. Call 204-522-5613
#Vandaele
#generic
Wow! Forward Robotics is making spray drones in Canada for Canada. This hybrid will fly at any speed to a max of 100 km/h, has a 3.5 m boom, and can carry up to 45 L. Very cool conversation about drift and water volumes, they get it.
#COFS19
One of my favourite finds at
#CanadasFarmShow
was the Lytehorse electric standup ATV. 128 km range, 65 km/h top speed, backrest, low centre of gravity, sophisticated suspension. Designed in Lumsden, manufactured in Regina.
I can't go about my work anymore without expressing my sorrow for what's being discovered at Canada's residential school grounds. I feel empty and deeply sad. Yet this is no surprise, we were told about this by indigenous survivors and by their families. 1/3
A company to watch is
@PrecisionAi
. Here at
#AIM22
, they are showing a model of their new drone concept. Hybrid (VTOL) it has an ICE for 2 h flight time, cameras for a 30 degree look ahead, and it claims algorithms and processors for Green on Green spot sprays at 50-70 km/h.
This off-road ebike from Kramble Industries () does 100 km/h with its 8 kW engine, has an 80 km range, and charges in 4 h. Smaller models available. Weighs 160 lbs.
#WCCPS2020
Spray productivity is a cornerstone of good agronomy - getting the job done at the right time. Maximize the proportion of time spraying by minimizing downtime - filling, cleaning, loading, transporting, fiddling.
Some numbers here:
#Spray18
#Sprayers101
Interested in
@JohnDeere
See & Spray Select? We dug a little deeper and are offering this detailed account of its feature set.
Read the thread for the Coles notes version.
#Sprayers101
A couple of developments with recirculating booms:
1. (
@kurt_kamin
) has released their Boom Section Recirculation Valve. Called SRV2, it feeds boom ends back into the section, turning each section into a recirculating system.
Spent the day with
@LowBoomLowDrift
yesterday studying and driving
@HorschLLC
Leeb 6.300 VL. Nice machine, designed and built for North American market. /1
Not seeing too much PWM yet at
#Agritechnica19
. More on that later. But when I see it, I do a video. This one's from Hardi booth, featuring the TeeJet DynaJet.
In August, 2015, we spent a wonderful four days in Paris. Our place was walking distance to the Cathedral. One night, after the tourists were gone, we sat in its quiet presence.
Banjo has produced new M350 pump with a claimed 515 gpm driven by 13 hp gas motor. Needs 4" intake for that flow but can do 3" outlet. This will test your system for leaks and you'll be in market for pressure relief valve in case of water hammer.
Had a first look at the
@Amazone
#Pantera
at Canada West Harvest Centre today. Unique features, e.g. engine below tank, diaphragm pump, recirculating boom, dedicated clean water pump, Claas cab, eco engine mode matches rpm to power demand, auto nozzle switching, turn comp.
Spray water testing will be important for 2022. We've updated a short read on how to interpret a water quality test. Includes a spreadsheet inspired by
@WinFieldCanada
to help make an AMS decision, and a link to great info from NDSU.
#Sprayers101
Sometimes, when I'm feeling sad and indecisive, I read the NDSU Guide to Weed Control. I immediately feel refreshed by the straight shooting science result based advice they offer. Keep it up,
@NDSUWeeds
More than just a patch of grass, a biobed is a magical place. that safely degrades dilute pesticide waste.
Interested? Read here for info on how to build one.
#Spray18
#Sprayers101
Yesterday we were waiting for specific wind conditions to do a deposition trial. Found the patented
@randersonBASF
method very useful. Plus I smelled great when I got home.
#spray19
I'm so affected by these discoveries that I don't know what to do or say right now. It's unimaginably horrible. But I know that our country cannot move forward without somehow dealing with these and other injustices at long last, and making that our number one priority. 3/3