Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/263110
D irect injection sprayers are becoming more common, especially in the row crop world, but they're expensive and most fruit growers still don't use them. Is there a way to obtain their advantages while using other sprayers? The answer appears to be yes. By the end of this year, fruit growers may be able to modify their spray- ers with a kit costing around $4,000 that will allow their conventional sprayers to have the direct injection feature. At least, that's the goal of a project in Michigan. Here's the story. Wild hosts Dr. Rufus Isaacs, a Michigan State University entomol- ogist, has been working for some time to reduce damage from grape berry moth by destroying the berries they infest. Grape berry moth, a pest that reduces yields, is a much greater problem in the vineyard perimeters, invading from wild hosts outside the vineyard and moving in only about 100 feet. "Dr. Isaacs and his team have shown that you don't have to spray the whole vineyard to get good control of grape berry moth," said Mark Ledebuhr, who provides consulting services for spray applications. "But 100 feet is too deep to spray from the out- side, using just a perimeter spray. You need to be close enough to force spray into the clusters to control berry moth." One simple solution would be to run your sprayer up and down the rows, turn- ing it on near the end of the row and off the rest of the time. But that would be a waste of time and fuel. Since growers are often treating for grape berry moth while they also apply fungicides throughout the vineyard for disease control, the ideal solution would be turn the insecticide on and off, injecting it into the spray stream only when it is needed. Hardware guy "I'm a hardware guy," Ledebuhr said, explaining how he got involved in the project with Isaacs. Ledebuhr runs a small company in Lansing, Michigan, called Application Insight, and for a young man, he has a long record in the spray industry. His father is Dick Ledebuhr, a now- retired Michigan State University agricul- tural engineer who, along with colleague Dr. Gary VanEe, developed the Proptec and Curtec low-volume rotary atomizer sprayer technologies in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Ledebuhrs cofounded Ledebuhr Industries 18 years ago to manufacture and sell the Proptec spray technology. Mark moved on from Ledebuhr Indus- tries three years ago to devote more atten- tion to the science of spray evaluation and sprayer design, the focus of his cur- rent company. The mission Isaacs gave him was to develop a design and a parts list that would allow growers to buy off- the-shelf components and modify their sprayers at a cost that would make this process economically feasible to as many 30 MARCH 1, 2014 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com Pest Management TECH-FLO ® ZETA ZINC 22 ASK YOUR P.C.A. OR CALL NUTRIENT TECHNOLOGIES TOLL-FREE: 877/832-4356 FOR THE DEALER NEAREST YOU. Just because you put a foliar zinc on doesn't mean the job's done. Some zinc products are so ineffective they are better suited as sun- screens or paint. In trial after trial, TECH- FLO ® ZETA ZINC 22 (22% Zinc) has been shown to be the most effective foliar zinc product on the market today, getting the zinc into the tree where it is needed. For the best value for your nutritional dollar, choose TECH-FLO ® ZETA ZINC 22. UNSURPASSED FOLIAR ZINC PERFORMANCE! …PUTTING ZINC ON PUTTING ZINC IN… PUTTING ZINC IN… Perimeter sprays Growers can save money applying pesticides only where they're most needed. by Richard Lehnert PHOTO BY MARK LEDEBUHR Mark Ledebuhr's goal is to devise a low-cost system for injecting pesticide into the spray stream only at hot spots where pest pressure is highest. "You don't have to spray the whole vineyard to get good control of grape berry moth." —Mark Ledebuhr