Whether you're spraying with a "Coupe", Air-Blast sprayer, boom or even a hand-gun, you always want to finish the job as fast as possible. Yes...I know... spraying is not the most attractive or comfortable job a grower must do...

But, if we rush through the job to get it done quicker so as to be able to get out of our Tyvek Coverall that is like a set of "Fat-Farm Monkey Suits", we are only kidding ourselves.

A spray job done to quickly is not an effective job and therefore we may have to come back and do it again.

Let's do things well the first time. And that means spraying at a rate where the coverage is effective.

Speed has a lot to do with how far the spray travels. One of the comparisons I usually use when I'm teaching application techniques is the one of the steam locomotive stopped in the depot. When the engine is stopped, the steam from the chimney goes straight up.

When the engine is running at 50 miles per hour, the steam is pushed down against the engine. Take that and turn it on its side, and you have your sprayer. The faster you move the boom, volute or hand wand, the less the spray is going to travel in the direction you are pointing it.

Another thing to remember is with air-blast sprayers: for the spray and the air to reach the target, the air in-between has to be displaced and pushed out of the way. Think of this and try to visualize and you will realize that the more you "dwell" in one place, the further the spray patterns go. (this is a favorite of the sprayer salesmen, they always demonstrate the blower in a standing position and, of course, the wind carrying the spray displaces the air and goes quite far - very impressive!).

Try running your air-blast sprayer at a slower ground speed and you will get more reach and coverage and that way be able to do the job right the first time, even though it takes longer.

This will also apply to boom sprayers, especially if you want to get good under-leaf coverage in heavy foliage situations.

When hand spraying, wands should be held steady...let the vortex created by the spinners behind the nozzles, do the "swirling" for you.

Remember: when you slow down, cut down the rate so that you do not saturate and dribble a lot of chemical on the ground.

Calculating Tractor Speed.

Very often, when out in the field and somebody asks me about tractor speeds, I'm at a loss. Tractors do not have speedometers and those that have the little chart of speeds to RPM's and Gear Ratios pasted on the console, the chart, of course is all scratched up and mostly illegible.

The simple way to calculate speed is by remembering (or having a little card handy) on how long it takes to cover distances in one minute. So here goes, and try to remember it:

I don't recommend spraying at speeds higher than 2 mph. Again, I feel that doing it once properly is better than having to go back and do it again.

Remember to cut down your dosages accordingly.