Sprayer

Sprayer 

a machine or device for atomizing and applying liquid pesticides in the form of solutions, suspensions, and emulsions of varying concentration to plants for the purpose of controlling pests, diseases, and weeds. Sprayers are also used for insect control in buildings.

There are various types of sprayers for treating field crops, orchards, and vineyards. The spraying mechanism may be hydraulic, fan, or aerosol. There are portable sprayers, horse-drawn sprayers, tractor-drawn sprayers (mounted or trailer) and sprayer planes. In hydraulic sprayers, the toxic liquid chemical is fed by pressure to nozzles, in which it is atomized and discharged onto the object being treated. In fan sprayers, the toxic chemical is atomized in nozzles and then expelled by a jet of air onto the object being treated. In some sprayers the stream of air also splits the chemical into even smaller particles.

The basic components and mechanisms of a sprayer are a tank with a stirrer to mix the chemical, a pump to create the pressure necessary to atomize the liquid and give its particles a certain velocity, a fan (in fan sprayers), a hose, a pressure regulator, atomizing nozzles, and a suction cock for reloading the sprayer. A pressure gauge monitors the degree of compression of the liquid. The working elements of tractor-drawn sprayers are driven by a takeoff shaft of the tractor engine. Portable sprayers are operated manually, and horse-drawn sprayers are operated manually or by a special engine. The sprayers on planes are operated by a vane mounted on the aircraft.

REFERENCE

Shamaev, G. P., and S. D. Sheruda. Mekhanizatsiia rabot po zashchite sel’skokhoziaistvennykh kul’tur ot vreditelei i boleznei. Moscow, 1964.

G. P. SHAMAEV