Web design by Lewis McKerrow 2011

We spray crops for a number of reasons, the main one being to protect the yield of our crops from the attack of many diseases and pests, and also to remove weeds that compete with the crop and can quickly multiply out of control.

Not every time the sprayer is in the field are we spraying chemicals, our system involves the use of liquid fertilisers that are applied with the sprayer.

The sprayer itself is 36 metres wide when unfolded, this keeps the amount of run on area within a field to the minimum. The sprayer is also equipped with many technological aids based around GPS. The sprayer has the ability to adjust the applied rate up or down automatically if the machine speeds up or down, this allows the correct rate to be applied at all times.

Auto section shut-off allows the sprayer to shut off 6 metre sections of the boom if it detects that the area has already been sprayed, this is especially handy in triangle shaped fields where the potential for overlapping is high, previously this was down to driver judgement.

Norac Boom Height control is another aid that helps, particularly with spray drift. This uses ultrasonic sensors on the boom to maintain a target height of say 50cm above the crop, in uneven or undulating fields with a 36 metre boom this would take a skilled operator to be constantly adjusting the tilt and height of the booms.

Spray drift is also minimised with the use of low drift nozzles which are angled to let air pass through between them.