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Web URL(s): | http://www.wsweedscience.org//wp-content/uploads/proceedings-archive/1995.pdf#page=56 Last checked: 12/10/2013 Requires: PDF Reader Notes: Item is within a single large file |
Publication Type:
| Report |
Content Type: | Abstract or Summary only |
Author(s): | Prather, Timothy S.;
Hembree, Kurt |
Author Affiliation: | Statewide Integrated Pest Management Project, University of California Cooperative Extension, Kearney Agricultural Center, Parlier, CA 93648 |
Title: | Evaluation of a light-activated sprayer used for berm weed management |
Meeting Info.: | The Red Lion Hotel, Sacramento, CA, March 13-16, 1995. |
Source: | Proceedings of the Western Society of Weed Science. Vol. 48, 1995, p. 47. |
Publishing Information: | Newark, CA: Western Society of Weed Science |
# of Pages: | 1 |
Keywords: | TIC Keywords: Spraying equipment; Efficiency; Product profile; Technology; Percent living ground cover; Equipment evaluation
|
Abstract/Contents: | "Herbicides applied to berms for postemergent weed control contact soil as well as plants. Minimizing soil contact would improve the efficiency of weed control by reducing the amount of herbicide required to achieve the same level of control. A new sprayer, the Weedseeker ©, is commercially available for use on orchard berms that should improve application efficiency. The sprayer uses light reflected from plants to determine when to apply herbicide, operating each spray nozzle independently. Utility of this technology revolves around its ability to apply materials more efficiently than standard sprayers. The objective of these studies was to determine the actual output from the sprayer over a range of area covered by green vegetation. Two studies were conducted where the area covered by green vegetation (% cover) was controlled experimentally, achieving a range of cover from 0 to 100% The first of these studies used tomatoes grown in flats and thinned to achieve each percent ground cover. There was a concern about an interaction between percent ground cover and the height of the tomatoes and so the second study was conducted using turf that achieved a range of cover from 0 to 100% by covering the turf with white paper. In a third experiment, the percent cover of weeds on berms of a new planting of peaches and nectarines was measured, achieving a range of cover from nearly 0 to 60% The amount of material applied was determined by weighing a 19 liter tank before and after applying water to green vegetation. In the experiments where percent ground cover was controlled there were four replication. The field study contained mulitple observations, but without replication at each percent cover. The relationship between the amount of water applied and percent ground cover was determined using regression analysis. Below 40% cover the sprayer applied less than its maximum, down to 33% of maximum output at 5% cover. In controlled experiments, the sprayer applied an averae of 168 l ha-1 at 100% cover. At 5% cover the sprayer applied 47 l ha-1, resulting in 28% of maximum output applied. There were no differences in the amount applied between the two controlled experiments, despite a difference in height of the vegetation (10 to 15 cm for the tomatoes and 0 to 2 cm for turf). The sprayer applied 74 and 94 l ha-1, respectively in the tomato and turf experiments, corresponding to 44% and 56% of maximum output applied. Results were similar in the field study, where the sprayer applied 33% of mazimum output at 5% cover. The sprayer applied water at its maximum output above 40% cover. The volume applied nearly doubled in the controlled experiments when cover increased from 5 to 10%, demonstrating that application efficiency increases with decreasing percent cover. The sprayer is most efficient at low percent cover (below 40%) and would not provide any efficiency benefits over a conventional sprayer on heavily infested berms." |
Language: | English |
References: | 0 |
Note: | This item is an abstract only! |
| ASA/CSSA/SSSA Citation (Crop Science-Like - may be incomplete): Prather, T. S., and K. Hembree. 1995. Evaluation of a light-activated sprayer used for berm weed management. Proc. West. Soc. Weed Sci. 48:p. 47. |
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| Web URL(s): http://www.wsweedscience.org//wp-content/uploads/proceedings-archive/1995.pdf#page=56 Last checked: 12/10/2013 Requires: PDF Reader Notes: Item is within a single large file |
| MSU catalog number: SB 610 .W43 v.47 |
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