Modern airblast sprayers, which are also known as speed sprayers, can cover fruit trees with much less than 400 gallons of spray mix per acre. Airblast sprayers produce fine droplets that cover foliage very well without the large amount of water needed to reach the point of runoff. Low-volume applications made with airblast sprayers are most commonly in the range of 40 to 80 gallons per acre.
Low-volume applications are also called concentrate applications because as the volume of water is decreased, there is a proportional increase in the concentration of pesticide, in order to apply the needed amount of pesticide per acre. Low-volume orchard sprays are commonly concentrated to several times the dilute rate. If the fruit grower uses what is called a 3X concentration, the volume of water is reduced to one third of the dilute volume and therefore the pesticide is increased by three times the dilute rate. Note: The pesticide is increased by three times the dilute rate, not three times the concentrate rate!
When a 5X concentration is used, the volume is reduced to one fifth of the dilute volume and therefore the pesticide concentration is increased by five times the dilute rate. Orchard sprays in the range of 2X to 5X are common.
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| Figure 2. Airblast sprayer driving between the rows. |
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