06/06/08 New Spray Technology

New Spray Technology. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. When spraying in the orchards and vineyards it is important to be able to deliver the right amount of product to the right places. Al Harmon, Sales manager for Lechler Inc. who specializes in the nozzle part of the sprayer. HARMON: The nozzle will deliver an actual pattern and then with the right nozzle of choice the grower has the opportunity to use some drift reduction technology. Drift is a major issue when it comes to spraying and it is important to control it as much as possible. Harmon says that Lechler nozzles give ag producers more flexibility when they spray. HARMON: What the fellas have found is that we can increase the micron size of the droplets striking the crop enough that they can do a much longer spray time during the day, spray in a little bit hotter weather. Windy conditions will always be an issue but if we can keep the droplet size larger and get it positioned on the crop where it needs to be it'll lengthen their working day. Lechler nozzles can be adapted to any system. Of course many producers have been adapting their orchards. HARMON: Changing the density of trees for example, the type of canopy, they may adapt their pruning processes to allow a different type of spray, maybe at a higher speed through the field and maybe a little bit more of a directional spray from our part and where we would get involved with that is helping select the right style of nozzle, the right direction, the right material so it can be used at the pressure that the chemical companies and agronomists need. For more information visit www.lechlerag.com. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.