Controlled droplet application (CDA) sprayers with ultra low volume (ULV) technology can mean up to an 80% reduction in the use of chemicals such as glyphosate which is good news financially and environmentally.
There are a number of options on the market so what should you look for?
1 – Build quality
As with any piece of kit you buy quality matters. Look for a sturdy bit of kit that will stand the test of time. Poorly made kit will break down, often give sub optimal spraying and let you down when you most need it.
2- Does it require special chemicals
A good CDA sprayer will not require special chemicals. They should work with the standard agrochemicals you normally buy. Being locked into buying expensive specialist chemical formulas that only work with the CDA sprayer defeats many of the benefits of investing in such systems.
3- Droplet direction
Some spin disc atomisers will be in the horizontal position. This scatters the droplets in a 360-degree pattern. This is a much simpler design and cheaper to make but is sub optimal for spray distribution. Good quality spin disc sprayer will direct the droplets downwards vertically towards the target plants. This ensures maximum absorption. In addition, it reduces contamination risk by ensuring all the droplets are directed towards the ground.
4- Adjustability
It’s a complex world and there are many different spraying situations that might require different application rates. You need a piece of kit that is as flexible as the world is complex. Being able to change the spray width and to be able to adjust the overall flow rate are key features you should look for.
5 – Minimum Flow rates
Most CDA sprayers are not also ultra-low volume sprayers. Ultra low volume tends to mean they are able to apply under 5 litres of liquid to an entire hectare. This means in order to be a ULV sprayer we need to get to very low flow rates of below 10ml per minute. Most CDA sprayers will not do this.
Many CDA sprayers will only achieve minimum flow rates of around 30ml per minute. That might sound low, but with a 30cm spread of spray at normal walking speed that equates to about 8 litres per hectare. This means that most agrochemicals will still need to be diluted for use with these poorer quality sprayers. The Mankar HQ sprayer can achieve flow rates as low as 1.3 ml min. This means dosing as low as 1 litre per hectare can be achieved even with a narrow band of spray. This is what allows Mankar and other high-quality sprayers to use pure undiluted chemicals. For many CDA sprayers you will still need to do some dilution of the neat chemical because they are simply not able to get down to those very low flow rates.
