Optimisation of a vertical spray boom for greenhouse spraying applications

The European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) and CLO-DVL joined forces in a project to stimulate a safe use of pesticides in Southern European countries. CLO-DVL optimised a method with mineral chelates to evaluate deposition tests. This quantitative method to evaluate spray deposits and to check spray distributions is used to assess two novel spraying techniques. Deposition tests with water-sensitive paper and mainly with the manganese and molybdenum chelates as tracer elements were performed with a manually pulled trolley and a motorised vehicle both equipped with vertical spray booms. Filter papers were attached to the tomato and pepper plants at several heights to obtain an indication of the spray distribution in the crop. Particular attention was paid to the effect on the spray distribution of the vertical nozzle distance (35 cm vs. 50 cm) and the spray distance to the crop. The tests proved that a nozzle spacing of 35 cm delivers a much better spray distribution than one of 50 cm. The optimal spray distance for flat fan nozzles with a spray angle of 80° and a nozzle spacing of 35 cm is about 30 cm.