Weeds might seem like a minor issue, but they can quickly overrun your farm or agricultural property if not kept in check.
Weeds can have a severely negative impact on your agricultural business by reducing crop and pasture yields, significantly reducing your land’s productivity. It has been estimated that weeds cost $2.5 billion dollars per year in lost agricultural production. This is why spraying for pests, weeds, and disease prevention, otherwise known as agricultural weed control, is an essential practise in modern farming operations.
Selecting the right kinds of spray machine for agriculture is crucial to ensure you keep weeds and pests at bay, but because there are so many types of agricultural spray equipment, you need to ensure that you are getting the right equipment to suit your requirements.
What type of agricultural spray equipment do you need?
There are many different types of commercial herbicide sprayers, and each type has variations available that target particular types of crops or spraying methods
For example, you may be looking for a weed sprayer for tractors that you can attach to your current equipment, but you need to consider whether that type of farmer spray machine will suit your crop as well as the weeds you are trying to eradicate.
If you aren’t sure what kind of commercial weed killer sprayer you need, here are five considerations to help you decide what type of commercial weed sprayer will best suit your needs to help you to eliminate your weed problem.
What is the current condition of your equipment?
If you are not starting from scratch, before you begin a new spraying job you should take inventory of your current equipment, to see if there is equipment that needs to be replaced or additional equipment you may need to invest in.
Test to be sure that everything is in working order. Check your sprayer seals for possible leakage, and check the pressure or your weed spray units as well.
What type of crop are you spraying?
The types of crops you are treating will influence your choice of weed spraying equipment. Wheat or canola for example, has different characteristics than fruits and vegetables.
As an example, let’s say you are spraying small fruit crops like strawberries, or low vegetables like pumpkins.
You will need a high volume, high-pressure herbicide spray equipment to penetrate beneath the overlying leaf canopy as well as the undersides of the leaves.
Different crops’ varying characteristics mean that they will require different weed spraying equipment, so taking this into consideration will help you to determine the best sprayer for agriculture characteristics your crops have.
What are your local weather conditions?
You use weed spray machines to protect your crop from weeds and disease, to encourage it to grow healthy and strong. That being said, you only want to treat your intended area which requires you to shield nearby areas from your industrial weed sprayers, particular when using large area weed sprayers,
Because of this, weather factors such as moisture levels, temperature, and even wind speed are things to consider as you prepare to spray your crops. You will need to make an educated guess as to how far your liquid mix will travel, as well as estimate drying time. The weed spray unit you choose must distribute your mixture in the necessary amount.
What size area are you spraying?
Your choice of agricultural sprayers largely depends on the size of the crop. For example, a back-pack hand sprayer will do for a smaller, or otherwise inaccessible area, whereas mounted units are ideal for steep terrain that may be unreachable by larger machines and can be used for a wide range of noxious weed types.
If your property landscape is more difficult, you may require a utv spray unit that can reach those hard to get areas bigger vehicles can’t reach or an extra-large job may require an agriculture power sprayer like a ute-mounted Boom Sprayer.
What is your budget for weed spraying equipment?
Studies by the CSIRO have shown that the average expenditure on weed control, including herbicide and non-herbicide practices, is $113/ha. This cost can really add up so you will need to carefully consider your budget when looking at investing in new equipment.
A smart way to tackle your weed problem for less than the cost of investing in farming spray machines, is to outsource your weed issues to weed control specialists.
Making the right choice for your weed spraying equipment needs
If you are looking for additional help for your agriculture weed control needs, get in touch with Rencon Air & Land.
Our services are conducted using the best equipment, as well as local knowledge and years of experience in the Agricultural and Forestry industries.
To learn more about what we can offer, call us direct on 1300 RENCON (736 266) or get in touch with us here.