Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/668668
www.goodfruit.com Good Fruit Grower MAY 1, 2016 29 2 Maintenance should be completed daily and annually. All of the parts of a sprayer need to be working properly to ensure proper calibration and optimization. Is your pressure gauge working correctly? Are your hoses worn? What about electronics that might be on your sprayer? All need to be working correctly to ensure the spray program meets its goals but doesn't overshoot the orchard. 3 Sprayer calibration should be per- formed at least annually to ensure that growers and workers know the proper amount of spray is being applied. There are many methods that people use for calibration, and each has its own pros and cons. This class teaches methods that allow workers to evaluate individual nozzle output so that they know whether each nozzle is good or bad. 4 Optimization is about getting every drop to the crop. There are two parts to optimization. The fi rst part is to direct all the spray into the canopy, by adjusting nozzle direction or turn- ing nozzles on or off. The second part involves matching the air volume with the canopy density. Wherever the air fl ows, the spray will follow, and growers want the spray to stay in the row. There are three methods to reduce air volume: gear up or throttle down the sprayer, limit the amount of air coming into the fan by covering the cage fan with plywood doughnuts or cloth shrouds, or change the fan setting from high to low. Eventually, there will be commercial technologies that will allow for the air vol- ume to be adjusted automatically. In the meantime, growers should ensure these steps are taken in the fi eld to optimize spray output. 5 Monitoring. Workers need to be able to make these adjustments and determine whether the spray went where it was supposed to go. Did it stay in the canopy? Did it drift? Growers should put out water-sensitive paper to determine where spray is going. Growers often ask how long their ceramic noz- zles will last, but that's a question that is dependent on their water quality and spray programs. However, they could monitor these nozzles in the calibration and be able to come up with manage- ment rules. Workers can't manage spray unless they monitor it, which means they need to be empowered to do so. Growers have to empower people to monitor so they can make adjustments and ensure these adjustments work. • Gwen Hoheisel is a regional extension specialist for Washington State University in Prosser, Washington. ONLINE Gwen Hoheisel explains six steps to calibrate and optimize airblast sprayers: bit.ly/ sprayer_calibration Hoheisel shows how to check the direction of an orchard sprayer's nozzle by using ribbons attached to each nozzle Picking / Work Platforms Improve FruIt Harvest eFFIcIency by 50% or more N.Blosi has been manufacturing Picking Platforms for over 45 years. These innovative Self-Propelled Picking Platforms are designed for year round work: Picking, Pruning, Limb Tying, Thinning Blossoms & Fruit, and Trellis Work. Model ZIP30 is equipped with 4-wheel drive, 4-wheel steering, 35 HP Perkins diesel engine, 2 ranges of operating speeds, forklifts front & rear, platform equipped with safety railings, bin rollers, offset hydraulic drive panel, hydraulic scissor height adjustment, hydraulic platform width adjustment, leveling feature front to back and tilt feature left to right, automatic steer- ing, pneumatic pruning system, LED lights, and many more safety features. Picking, Pruning, Limb Tying, Thinning Blossoms & Fruit, Trellis Work Innovative, Rugged, & Labor Saving Products 4857 Contractors Drive, East Wenatchee, WA 98802 Call Toll Free: 800.461.5539 Please contact us for more information on the N.Blosi Picking / Work Platforms