U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Application Technology Research: Wooster, OH
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                                    Software
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    Departments
                        Agricultural Engineering
                                    Entomology
                                    Horticulture
                                    Plant Pathology
                                    IR-4 programSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Midwest Area Wooster, Ohio Application Technology Research Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            Jeon, Hongyoungitem
                                            Zhu, Hepingitem
                                            Derksen, Richarditem
                                            OZKAN, ERDAL - The Ohio State Universityitem
                                            Krause, Charles
  Submitted to: Transactions of the ASABE
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 10/3/2011
                                    Publication  Date: 1/6/2012
                                    Citation: Jeon, H., Zhu, H., Derksen, R.C., Ozkan, E., Krause, C.R. 2012. Performance evaluation of a newly developed variable rate sprayer for nursery liner applications. Transactions of the ASABE. 54(6):1997-2007.Interpretive Summary: Properly applying chemicals to nursery liner crops is essential to protect them from biological harm and maintain their quality. However, few application technologies have been specifically designed for these crops and nursery growers have to use either orchard or modified ground sprayers for their chemical applications. An experimental variable-rate sprayer was designed and tested for liner applications in a laboratory plot.  Its spray deposit, coverage, and droplet density inside canopies of various nursery liner varieties was compared with constant-rate applications. The variable-rate application had lower variation in spray deposits inside tree canopies than constant-rate applications. Moreover, spray volume savings of the variable-rate sprayer were up to 71% compared to the conventional application of the constant rate that was normally recommended for liner spray applications. Therefore, the newly developed variable-rate sprayer would bring great reductions in pesticide use and safeguard the environment for the nursery liner production
                                Technical Abstract: An experimental variable-rate sprayer designed for liner applications was tested by comparing its spray deposit, coverage, and droplet density inside canopies of six nursery liner varieties with constant-rate applications. Spray samplers, including water sensitive papers (WSP) and nylon screens, were mounted inside tree canopies to collect spray deposit and coverage from variable- and constant-rate (555 and 1,110 L/ha) applications. Models for estimating spray volume savings of the variable-rate sprayer compared to a constant-rate and Tree-Row-Volume (TRV) based rate applications were developed for various liner canopy sizes and tree spacing. The accuracy of the model was validated with the field test data. For the liner trees tested, the variable-rate sprayer delivered 151 to 359 L/ha application rates while the conventional constant-rate application required 1,110 L/ha. Due to substantially lower spray output, the variable-rate application had relatively lower but sufficient spray deposit, coverage, and droplet density than the constant-rate applications. Also, the variable-rate application had significantly less variations in spray deposit within the canopies of different size trees. Test results showed that the variable-rate sprayer reduced spray volume up to 86.4 % and 70.8 % compared to the 1,110 L/ha and TRV based rate applications, respectively, while the model estimated savings were up to 94.6 % for the 1,110 L/ha application, and 57.7 % for TRV based rate applications.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov