1. SPRAY EQUIPMENT Basic Components and Operations

2. Purposes  Used to apply agricultural chemicals  Spray pressures range from near 0 to over 300 pounds per square inch (PSI),  Application rates can vary from less than 1 to over 100 gallons per acre (GPA).  Basic components: pump, tank, agitation system, flow-control assembly, pressure gauge, and distribution system

4. Reasons for Calibration  Intense economic and environmental pressure today.  60 percent of the applicators were over or under applying pesticides by more than 10 percent Four out of five sprayers had calibration errors and one out of three had mixing errors.  Equipment should be recalibrated periodically to compensate for wear

5. Pump and Flow Controls  A pump must have sufficient capacity to operate a hydraulic agitation system  Supply the necessary volume to the nozzles  Capacity of at least 25 percent greater than the largest volume required by the nozzles  Pumps should be resistant to corrosion  There are different pumps for different uses

8. Nozzles  Regulate flow  Atomize the mixture into droplets  Disperse the spray in a desirable pattern.  Best suited for certain purposes Herbicides are most effective when applied as droplets Nozzles determine the rate at a particular pressure, speed, & nozzle spacing  Brass, plastic, nylon, stainless steel, hardened stainless steel, and ceramic  Each nozzle on a sprayer should apply the same amount

11. Flow Rate  Function of the orifice size and pressure  As pressure goes up flow rate increases, but not in a one-to-one ratio  To double the flow rate, you must increase the pressure four times

12. Nozzle Spray Patterns  Spray angle and the shape of the pattern  Angles from 65 to 120 degrees  Narrow angles produce a more penetrating spray  Wide-angle nozzles can be mounted closer to the target  Flat fan, Hollow cone & Full cone

14. http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/ageng/ machine/ae73-1.htm#Contents Use the following website to write the equations you will need to calibrate the spray rig

15. SPRAYER CALIBRATION 1.oz./nozzle/min x no. nozzle = oz./bloom/min.  2.oz./bloom/min. = gals./min (gpm)  128 oz. gal.  3.gpm x 43560 = gpa  boom width x dist/min  4.gals. Tank cap ÷gpa = ac/tankload  5.ac/tankload x amt. material/ac = amt. material tankload