There never seems to be enough time to get everything done, whether on or off of the farm. Whether due to our natural, innate tendencies or simply through survival mechanisms, we often try and find corners we can cut or areas where we can shave a little more time. Unfortunately, in our quest for more time, we often reduce our efficiency or accuracy. One of the areas that often suffers when time gets tight is short-term, regular maintenance of equipment. At a conference that I attended the fall, I had the opportunity to sit in on an interesting session that dealt with, at least for part of the time, sprayer maintenance and its importance.
A typical boom sprayer is comprised of a number of simple (and complex) interconnected parts. These include (but are not limited to) the spray tank, power take off (PTO), pump, pressure gauge, nozzles, filters, pressure regulator and hoses. Failure of any one part can reduce the efficacy of the entire system. Regular maintenance can affect whether your expensive chemical is correctly and effectively applied. The following are some of the parts are sometimes overlooked.
Agitation system
* whether using paddles or recirculation, this needs to be checked regularly to ensure it is working properly