DIY Orchard/Vineyard Sprayer blower/fan ideas

[Bobp]

I've been chewing on how to make one sprayer do all of our spray needs, or most of them at any rate. Nothing is available commercially, atleast not anywhere near our price range, at this time.
So after some thought, this is the boom sprayer modifications I built. The boom is set to run up vertical to throw at the rows on either side of the tractor.
The booms can be reset for horizontal operation by pulling a bolt and resetting it.
The center has a boomless Hamilton nozzle, which will do a 30' pattern, and with a couple of valve turns it will also do 24-36" right down the center.

It's got a AA17L valve that allows for selecting Left, Right, center, LR, LC, RC, or LRC, and it has the long range gun also.

Next steps:
Install a boom for front tire side under canopy single nozzle directed 12-24" banding spray at the foot of the rows, for insect Control, or weed control, as well as fertilizer applicaton ECT.

But most of all I'm working on ideas for a set of 12vdc blowers mounted on the Sprayer frame to run concurrently with the boom nozzles to agitate and move the folliage while spraying a mist. Maybe even adding a nozzle in the blower. This allows for complete folliage coverage of the spray product allowing us to achieve a more thorough realization of the spray goal, and thus reducing the frequency and of amount spray used to achieve the goal.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

We farm Blackberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, elderberries, peaches, apples, and we're planting this next spring, more Blackberries, and adding Grapes, Muscadines, and Gojis.
So the Sprayer being multifunctional is a must.


Tractor has a 12v system.

I bought an old FMI orchard sprayer with a engine and a 500g tank. The tank was shot. But I wanted the pump and blower. At some point I intend to mount it to something like an old brush hog deck and use it as a three point model... But I've got several fab/welding projects ahead of it...

 

[NorCal]

Awesome! Not sure many on the forum can appreciate how cool this is. Way to go!

 

[Johny99]

Wow, quite a challenge to come up with something for bush/vine and trees! Our orchard sprayer uses a simple engine driven fan to create the mist. Needless to say it would be very inefficient for vine and bushes.

 

[grapeman]

I think you are doing a great job in improvising solutions. I can appreciate the need for a diverse sprayer when you have different crops. I used to have vegetables, dairy and apples as well as grapes. I had a small airblast sprayer also which worked great for the trees, but less so with the grapes so I came up with my own vineyard sprayer. I still have my prototype model I use for my own vineyards but have built several others for other vineyard operations. I made the boom width adjustable to allow for vine growth in the summer. Here is a picture of the second one I made for the Cornell Baker Farm Cold Hardy Grape Trial.

 

[Bobp]

That's a really cool design... I like it alot...
One of my largest concerns is achieving total coverage with fungicide and insecticides...

The Spotted wing drosophila threat is huge.... Thorough coverage is a must. By the time you realize that you missed some under the canopy it's too late.

 

[grapeman]

I agree with the SWD. I am just beginning to deal with it here and it is quite a battle!

 

[balatonwine]

One of my largest concerns is achieving total coverage with fungicide and insecticides....

I had similar thoughts. Jack of all trades is master of none.

But then again, if Jake works well enough, then Jack is all you need.

 

[Bobp]

I try to be proactive in all of my endeavors. Having the ability to set up to spray in many configurations means I can premtivly approach all know threats as effectively as possible.

Case in point... Most folks wait to control japenese beetles until after they emerge.... This is exactly too late. I start my program when we see a consistent week of 60°+ usually the first week of April or so....Then every 2 weeks I hit em again.... Through the first of June. I spray my sod for grub Control...This has several positive side effects as well...
SWD is one I'm working on being better prepared for. Anyone who doesn't is being foolish... They can devestate a crop...
Imagine picking a crop and having little white maggots emerge in your customers Refrigerator... Or on the grocery store shelf.. no positive response I'm sure....
BMSB is another to be very concerned about. And cane borers and and and.... It's always something.
With time being at a premium, reducing the amount of set up time, and having it set up to be able to jump into gear without alot of effort means I'll be more likely to be able to be proactive in my approach, or atleast, much more timely I'm my reaction to observed issues.

 

[LordSauvignon]

Hi, I'm brand new here, but I'd like to ask what you say about this spray kit. I have small vineyards (about 4 acres together) in 5 different places and in hilly terrain, so a tractor is not the solution for me. But I have a Yanmar minidumper that easily handles the terrain and I would like to place a steel structure on it along with a 50 gallon tank and a Honda GX120 engine / Comet CM 25 diaphragm pump (Max Pressure: 362 PSI. Max Flow: 6.1 GPM). Braglia M371 with 8 or 10 nozzles would then serve as a sprayer.
Do you think this can work? Is such pressure and flow sufficient?

| I was inspired by these sprayers:
https://www.silvan.com.au/rural-lifestyle/300l-motorised-lightfoot-vine-sprayer/https://www.sprayerdepot.com/produc...p-with-manual-hose-reel-and-vineyard-orchard- boom

Thanks so much for the advice.
Petr

 

[balatonwine]

a Yanmar minidumper

From your PDF file it seems you want to put the sprayer in front of the operator. If so, that is a very bad idea. You will be breathing in all the spray unless you go constantly in reverse, which has its own operational issues.

Personally, I would recommend another solution.

Rather consider using the Yanmar as a source of your spray tank, and pressure pump, but use a hand sprayer with hose attachment that you walk the vineyard with. Something like this (replacing the wheel barrow with your Yanmar):

 

[LordSauvignon]

Thank you for the advice. I plan to place the nozzles far enough on the steel frame in front of the machine so that they are at least 2 meters in front of me. We also always use a respirator when spraying. In addition, in the vineyard we use only basic sprays based on sulfur and bicarbonates and then plant extracts and teas.

I'm more interested in whether 25 bar is enough pressure for spraying with nozzles (in the datasheet to the pump, they write 11 to 18 liters per minute of spraying at 25 bar, which would be an ideal volume for me due to the speed of the Yanmar dumper).

Thanks
Petr

 

[balatonwine]

I plan to place the nozzles far enough on the steel frame in front of the machine so that they are at least 2 meters in front of me.

If you understand fluid dynamics (and gasses and volatilized fluids fall into that definition) or have done any forward spraying before such as with a backpack sprayer, you should know that putting the sprayers that far ahead is also a potentially very bad idea. With forward spraying, you are moving into the spray zone, so you want to move beyond that zone as fast as possible before the spray starts to fill the void in the vineyard aisle you will be passing through. The further you put forward the sprayers, the more likely you will be moving through spray residue.

It may seem contrary to logic, but consider putting the spay nozzles as close to the operator as possible if forward spaying, or if you are DIY build, why not simply route them behind the operator in some way (even better, because any spray forward of the operator will be immediately in the aisle if there is even the slightest breeze).

I would recommend building a trailer. Having the tank and pump up front, but the sprayers on the trailer. Run a hose between them. If your land is steep, then go up and down every second or third row. That is take a wide arch on your passes at the end of each row. This not only will allow you to clear the trailer, but will be safer on hills when you go horizontal to the hill without having to deal with tight turns. And going every second or third row also allows spray to dissipate between passes. I am suggesting this from 20 years of vineyard management experience (and also, from that, why I am saying your design is not ideal).

In addition, in the vineyard we use only basic sprays based on sulfur and bicarbonates and then plant extracts and teas.

Organic sprays are not "non-toxic". And every option to avoid contact is beneficial.

As for plant extracts.... besides Neem oil, there are not really that many that are proven very effective reliably in vineyard applicaitons.

 

[LordSauvignon]

Thank you so much for your comments and advice. So I plan the sprayer behind me to avoid contact with the spray as much as possible.
I'm just still not sure about the performance of the pump. I have seen commercially use from 15 to 40 bar for boom sprayers with a volume of 10 to 60 liters of liquid per minute, so I'm not sure what is adequate for vineyards.

As for DIY plant extracts, I am very satisfied with them so far. Of course, I don't have enough vineyards or time to do blinded experiments to see if they work as effectively as commercial products (either organic or conventional), but compared to conventional small winemakers, I'm very good at vineyard health. Of course, this approach has its limits - it is necessary to really spray preventively and have mastered leaf removal. It is also necessary to use more water for spraying since these substances function primarily on a contact basis without a systemic effect.

 

[streamkeeper]

Last year I lost an entire crop to Black Rot. I vowed this year to commit to a spraying regiment. I had been working with two 2.5L hand held sprayers.
It was the cheap solution, but not the efficient one.
My vines are on hilly terrain also, but my small tractor will work. I paired the spray boom from your post above to an enduroplas land champ sprayer.
My rows are 10ft vine to vine in width. The boom has no problem covering that distance.
I cut a 2 hour job down to 30 mins, improved the coverage, and distributed more product all while ONLY mixing chemicals once.

I would think with a little creativity you could mount the boom to whatever you decide the best transportation for your land.

I will try to find a pic for you to see later.

Hope that helps a little.

 

[LordSauvignon]

I have engine driven backpack sprayer by Stihl but it is very time consuming to do the spraying of almost 4 acres and as You write I have to mix spray many times.
Also fully filled sprayer is about 60 pounds.
Width of row in my vineyards is about 5 ft, so I'm not concerned that boom may not reach the distance, but if a spray penetrates at sufficient pressure through the wall of the leaves.

Pics would be great.
Thanks

 

[streamkeeper]

Here you go.
I feel confident that the pressure I’m getting from the nozzles is enough to penetrate the summer foliage at 10ft width.

 

[LordSauvignon]

I'll be glad for the report on the outcome.
I found that your sprayer should develop a pressure of 300 PSI, which corresponds to my planned setup.