Pesticide Application Equipment and Calibration

  1. Hands-On Sprayer Calibration, A Manual for Instructors - PDF file format. Developed for Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service by Fran Wolak and Mac Horton. Contains guide to using a spray table, selecting a nozzle, several methods of sprayer calibration, exercises and a section on troubleshooting problems. December 1988. (The age of this publication does not diminish its value.) (PDF)
  2. Sprayer Cleanout: DuPont Sulfonylurea Herbicides Fact Sheet
  3. 2,4-D, Cotton, and Sprayer Contamination
  4. Selected Application Equipment web sites and publications
  5. Selected Calibration web sites and publications

Selected Application Equipment web sites and publications:

  1. CP Products - - A commercial site. This company has nozzles for aerial and ground applications. This site has setup and maintanence info, a nozzle and droplet size calculator, and operator hints, also has links to related sites.
  2. Delavan Sprayer Products - Nozzles, pumps, controls.
  3. Greenleaf Technologies - Turbodrop. Commercial site.
  4. Hypro Spray Tips and Hypro Pumps - Click on Products to see what is available. Hypro is a subsidiary of Pentair.
  5. Micron Sprayers Limited - company, located in the UK, manufacture a wide range of spraying equipment for agriculture and horticulture. Invented and pioneered Controlled Droplet Application (CDA).
  6. R&D Sprayers - Commercial site.
  7. Spraying Systems Co. - TeeJet Agricultural Spray Products. This site includes a spray tip selection guide, droplet size and drift information, drift causes and control, and a spray calibration calculator.
  8. Wilger, Inc. - agricultural field sprayers manufacturer.

Selected Calibration web sites and publications:

  1. PIP-38 Calibration of Pesticide Application Equipment Using the 1/128th Method - Clemson University Pesticide Information Program information sheet providing information about an easy method for preparing and calibrating your sprayer for a specific application at the beginning of a season or during the season when you change your type of spraying.
  2. PIP-40 Calibrating Liquid Hand Pump and Backpack Sprayers - Methods for calibrating manual sprayers and tips for making your manual sprayer applications more uniform.
  3. Sprayer Calibration and Cleaning - (PDF) chapter on weed management by M.W. Marshall, Clemson University Extension Weed Specialist.
  4. Pesticide Application Technology - Dr. Andrew Lander's site at Cornell University, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, includes information on airblast, boom and injection sprayers and precision farming. This site has published papers and links to related sites. Note: Dr. Andrew Landers and Mr. Michael Helms presented Solutions for Safer Spraying at the 2000 Southern Region Pesticide Coordinators meeting in Charleston, SC.
  5. 1/128 of an Acre Method of Sprayer Calibration - by Richard P. Cromwell, University of Florida. You can also get a PDF copy from this site.
  6. Calibrating Turfgrass Chemical Application Equipment - the Ohio State University Bulletin 817-00 by H. Erdal Ozkan. Includes information on calibration, calibration equipment, calibrating liquid application equipment and calibrating dry granular spreaders.
  7. 1/128 Method of Calibration: Calibrating Multiple Nozzle Boom-Type Sprayers - M.A Ferrell, Dept. of Plant Sciences, College of Agriculture, University of Wyoming fact sheet.
  8. 1/128 Method of Calibration Calibrating Hand Sprayers and High Pressure Hand Guns - M.A Ferrell, Dept. of Plant Sciences, College of Agriculture, University of Wyoming fact sheet. A PowerPoint presentation on this subject can be found at http://wyagric.state.wy.us/divisions/ts/sections-a-programs/pesticide/210
  9. Calibration of Boom Sprayers Using Charts to Reduce Math Calculations - Article in the Journal of Extension (JOE).
    Abstract: To protect the investment in agricultural pesticides, a boom sprayer should be calibrated at the start of the season and whenever application conditions change. Also, sprayer output should be periodically checked throughout the season to assure proper application rate. Although boom sprayers are calibrated in a variety of ways, each method uses the measurements of nozzle flow rate and equipment travel speed. The following charts and procedures illustrate how easily the calibration process can be achieved. The charts provided reduce the need for math calculations. They provide Extension educators with information they can use to give producers a quick and easy way to calibrate their boom sprayers. Ref: R.F. Beard and H. Deer. 2001. Calibration of Boom Sprayers Using Charts to Reduce Math Calculations. J. of Extension. Vol 39. No. 1.