FARM EQUIPMENT Ohio’s Country Journal ERDAL OZKAN


Applied Engineering


Now is the time to calibrate your sprayer


Higher pesticide costs and new chemi-


cals designed to be used in lower doses make accurate application more important than ever. There is no better time than early spring to take a closer look at your sprayer. Among the things to do is to find out if the sprayer is delivering the proper application rate (gallons per acre) for your spraying situation.


Why calibration is important? One can determine if the chemicals are


applied at the proper rate only by carefully calibrating the sprayer. Calibration, per- haps more than anything else, will have a direct impact on achieving cost-effective pest control and crop production. While applying too little pesticide may result in ineffective pest control, too much pesticide wastes money, may damage the crop and increases the potential risk of contaminat- ing ground water and environment. Results of “Sprayer Calibration Clinics” in Ohio and data from several other states show that only one out of three to four applicators are applying chemicals at a rate that is within 5% of their intended rate (an accuracy level recommended by USDA and EPA). Sprayers should be calibrated several times per year. Changes in operat- ing conditions and the type of chemical used require a new calibration. Frequent calibration is even more important with liquid application because nozzles wear out with use, increasing the flow rate. More tha a decade ago, my colleagues at


Principals of three leading Central


Ohio Case IH dealerships announced their plans to merge their dealerships into a new company. The corporation will be called Evolution Ag, Inc. and will bring together the assets and marketing areas of Agri-Trac Equipment of Utica, Hill Implement Company of Circleville and J R Equipment, Inc. of Upper Sandusky and Delaware. “Farmers have continued to grow their


operations and are demanding more and better services from their suppliers. This merger will allow these dealerships to bet- ter serve their customers now and in the future,” said Jim Henkel, President of J R Equipment and Chairman of Evolution Ag. “There has always been strength in numbers and it is clear that this group of


the University of Nebraska conducted an interesting survey. The survey results revealed that there is a direct positive cor- relation between application accuracy and the frequency of calibration. Approximately 67% of the operators who calibrated before every spray operation had application errors below 5%. Only 5% of the applicators who calibrated their equipment less than once a year (once every two, three, four years) achieved the same degree of application accuracy.


How to calibrate a sprayer Calibrating a boom sprayer is not as dif-


ficult as it sounds. It usually doesn’t take more than 30 minutes to calibrate a sprayer, and only three things are needed: a watch showing seconds, a measuring tape, and a jar graduated in ounces. A pocket calculator also will be handy. Usually the ultimate goal when calibrating a sprayer is to find out the actual applica- tion rate in gallons per acre. There are many methods to choose from to deter- mine this but there is one method that is the easiest, most practical, and requires few calculations. This method is based on spraying


1/128 of an acre per nozzle and collecting the spray that would be released during the time it takes to spray the area. Because there are 128 ounces of liquid in 1 gallon, this convenient relationship results in ounces of liquid caught from one nozzle being directly equal to the application rate in gallons per acre, or GPA. For example, if you catch an average of


15 ounces from a set of nozzles, the actual application rate of the sprayer is equal to 15 GPA. With this method, make sure that the time used to catch output from nozzles is the same as the time it takes to cover 1/128 acre. Table 1 shows the distance you must travel to cover 1/128 acre for differ- ent nozzle spacings and row spacings. For broadcast applications, use the nozzle spacing to determine the calibration dis-


dealerships recognizes the advantages for farm equipment dealers to grow.” Evolution Ag will primarily represent


the Case IH lines of agricultural equip- ment including tractors, combines, planters and tillage equipment as well as sprayers for farm operations. Doug Loudenslager, Vice President of J R Equipment and Secretary of the new com- pany said that final decisions have not been made on allied lines to be carried. Individual members currently represent: Great Plains, Unverferth, Kubota, Grasshopper, Toro, eXmark, Landpride, Cub Cadet, Stihl, Kinze, Yanmar, Kuhn Knight, J&M and McCormick. “Our plan is to maintain the existing


presence in each of the four communities that our dealerships currently serve. This


tance. For band or directed applications, use the row spacing. Follow the steps below when calibrat-


ing boom sprayers for broadcast applica- tions: 1. Fill the sprayer tank with water. 2. Run the sprayer, inspect it for leaks,


and make sure all vital parts function properly. 3. Measure the distance in inches


between the nozzles. Then measure an appropriate distance in the field based on this nozzle spacing, as shown in Table 1. 4. Drive through the measured distance


in the field at your normal spraying speed and record the travel time in seconds. Repeat this procedure and average the two measurements. 5. With the sprayer parked, run the


sprayer at the same pressure level and catch the output from each nozzle in a measuring jar for the travel time required in Step 4. 6. Calculate the average nozzle output


by adding the individual outputs and then dividing by the number of nozzles tested. If an individual sample collected is more than 10% higher or lower than the average nozzle output rate, check for clogs and clean the tip, or replace the nozzle. 7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until the varia-


tion in discharge rate for all nozzles is within 10% of the average. 8. Then, the final average output in


ounces is equal to the application rate in gallons per acre: Average output (ounces) = Application rate (GPA). 9. Compare the actual application rate


with the recommended or intended rate. If the actual rate is more than 5% higher or lower than the recommended or intended rate, you must make adjustments. You can start the adjustments by chang-


ing the pressure. Lowering the spray pres- sure will reduce the spray delivered; high- er pressure means more spray is delivered. Change pressure until you collect the


Central Ohio Case IH dealers announce merger


merger will also allow us to make critical investments in facilities and people, better meeting the needs of a growing agricul- ture,” said Tom Hill, president of Hill Implement and president of Evolution Ag. Evolution Ag is expected to employ


approximately 70 people. “The most important asset in any deal-


ership is the people. Evolution Ag will be able to provide our existing employees new opportunities for advancing their career in this exciting industry,” said Dave Shipley, president of Agri-Trac and treas- urer of Evolution Ag. “We think it will also help us become the employer of choice for others who would like to work in the farm equipment business.” The companies represented in the


merger bring a consistent record of sales


growth and return on investment. Agri- Trac Equipment in Utica was established in 2002 with the purchase of B&B Tractor. Its marketing area is east-central Ohio and stretches to the Pennsylvania border. Hill Implement of Circleville was established in 1924 and has a marketing area primarily in south-central Ohio. J R Equipment of Upper Sandusky was established in 1986 and serves customers in central Ohio. J R Equipment recently completed an acquisi- tion of Buckeye Tractor in Delaware. Buckeye was a Case IH dealership with more than 30 years of service to farmers in Delaware, Licking, Marion, Union and Morrow counties. Upon receipt of final approval from Case IH, the company expects the merger to be executed and finalized in the fall of this year.


Ohio’s Country Journal • ocj.com • Mid-April 2012 27


required amount of ounces of water from the nozzles. Don’t vary from the pressure range recommended for the nozzles that you use. You also can correct the application


error by changing the actual travel speed. Slower speeds mean more spray is deliv- ered; faster speeds mean less spray is delivered. Determine how long it takes to collect the required number of ounces of water in the jar. Then change your travel speed to cover the driving distance from Table 1 for the nozzle spacing on the boom. Don’t exceed the safe driving speed. If these changes don’t bring the applica-


tion rate to the desired rate, then you may have to select a new set of nozzles with smaller or larger orifices. Recalibrate the sprayer (repeat steps 5


through 12) after any adjustment until the difference between the application rate desired and the actual application rate determined from the calibration process is within 5% of the desired application rate. One final important point to consider


— getting the right amount of chemicals on the ground is not enough to achieve effective pest control. How the chemical is deposited on the spray target is as impor- tant as the amount deposited. Make sure that all nozzle tips are properly aligned. Some nozzles require overlapping adjacent spray patterns. Check the nozzle catalog to determine the overlap required for a given type of nozzle. In the mean time, you can check the OSU Extension publication on boom sprayer calibration for additional information. Here is the URL for this pub- lication: http://ohioline.osu.edu/aex- fact/0520.html Erdal Ozkan, Professor and Extension ag


engineer, can be reached at 614-292-3006, or ozkan.2@osu.edu. This column is provided by the OSU Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, OSU Extension, Ohio Agricultural Research & Development Center, and the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.


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