New Products
Low cost kit makes it easy to spray just the trees
Featuring a simple design and ease of operation, the state-of-the-art "One Shot" tree recognition system for air-blast orchard sprayers off ers an inexpensive yet dependable and eff ective way to minimize chemical costs and drift when spraying orchards.
The purchase price, even with installation included, is considerably less than more complex tree recognition spray control systems that can cost three or four times more, reports Jim Bennett, sales manager for Nelson Mfg. Co., Inc., which designed and builds the kit.
"The One Shot makes tree-sensing sprayer control technology available to just about any orchard farmer," he says. "Depending on how much you use it, the system can easily pay for itself in reduced chemical costs in less than one season. Also, some farmers have been able to take advantage of the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service's Environmental Quality Incentive Program to assist with new sprayer purchases by adding the One Shot option."
The key to the money-saving benefi ts of this system, he says, is simple, rugged construction. "Originally used in automatic car washes, the components were chosen and designed to withstand the high moisture environment of orchard spraying."
The 12-volt One Shot kit consists of two waterproof photoelectric sensors - one on each side and near the front of the sprayer - and two solid state sprayer-mounted control modules, which are protected in a sealed enclosure.
"The control modules keep the valve in the OFF position until a sensor detects a tree," Bennett says. "Then, a pre-set delay turns the spray valve on at the correct time and holds it in the ON position to spray the tree. After the tree is sprayed the valve shuts off."
By limiting spray applications to just the trees and not the spaces between them, the One Shot reduces environmental impact of chemical treatments by minimizing spray drift and the resulting chemical deposits on the ground compared to sprayers without the tree recognition feature, Bennett notes. Also, it saves time by treating more trees between sprayer tank fill-ups.
"The return on investment is highest for new plantings, where the distance between trees is the greatest and the spray valves are mostly in the OFF position," he says. The simplicity of the One Shot includes the way in which the components are adjusted to activate the spray control valves.
Only four adjustments are required for each side:
- Aiming the sensor by moving it up or down to detect the trees properly.
- Adjusting the sensitivity of the sensor to set the distance it sees the tree.
- Setting the delay interval, the time between when the sensor detects a tree and when the control module activates the spray valve.
- Setting the hold time, which determines how long the valve remains in the On position.
"That's all you have to do," Bennett says. "By keeping it simple, teaching and learning this system is very easy. It's also easy to operate. And, it's easy to adjust using only a small screwdriver."
The control modules and sensors have a rated life of 20 million operations.
"Although most commonly installed on Nelson Hardie sprayers, the One Shot can be used with any brand of air-blast sprayer", he adds. The kit includes two electric ball valves. They can be installed in place of existing cable-controlled ball valves or, if desired, installed in-line after the existing ball valves.
Permission for use is granted, however, credit must be made to the International Agri-Center and Farm Press when reprinting this item.
ONE SHOT TREE RECOGNITION SYSTEM |
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| COMPANY: | Nelson Mfg. Co., Inc. |
| CONTACT: | Jim Bennett, Sales Manager |
| ADDRESS: | 2860 Colusa Hwy. Yuba City CA 95993 |
| WEBSITE: | www.NelsonHardie.com |
| E-MAIL: | jimb@nelsonhardie.com |
| PHONE: | (530) 673-0919 |
| BOOTH SPACE: | N25 |
| New Products Center: | GS20H |
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