sprayers

[treeman82]

How big of sprayers do you guys use for doing applications to trees and shrubs?

 

[Stump Man]

When I was doing shade tree spraying we used a John Bean 35GPM with Wisc VG4D(37HP) engine. Did a real good job. If your doing real large trees you might consider a 55GPM Bean. Also can cut pressure down to do small evergreens and shrubs. I mounted mine on a old trailer as we only used it about 10 days a year.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Depends on your needs, what type of hight do you want to hit and volume of use will tell you the size of tank, pump, engine, and hoze to be used, then the gun tip is soemthing that gets changed as distance changes. Adjuvents and surfactants will help some too.

you loose some efficiency with spray hoze length too.

You want to be able to maintain an unfractured column of liquid up to the target highth. Pressure alone wont do it, volume and column width are factors also.

So if you want to spray 60ft trees you need something like a 12hp engine, 30gpm pump, 200 gal tank and 3/4 inch hoze. If all you want to do is shrubs and 20 ft trees then a small centrifical pump with a 5hp enging and 1/2 inch hose and a pistol type gun.

Small trees is where most of the money is in anyways. Big trees are a PITA because of the usage and drift issues.

 

[treeman82]

Could the 35 - 55 GPM pump also be used for sub surface fertilization? Do many people still use the 1000 gallon tanks? I know Mark has at least one that is 1500 gal.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Some use those big tanks, but many have 2-3 separate tanks on a truck.

500gal goes a long way unless you are doing huge trees

I cannot see needeing over 30gpm unless you are doing gypsey moth or somesuch where you are needing a water cannon with a 1/2 in apperature

A properly managed spray can coat a large tree with 20 gal of mix.

When you are using fungicides a 1-2# per hundred you don't want a lot of the mix going on the ground. That stuff can be pricey.

If your just doing fert then you dont want the high pressures that the big pumps give you, so most of the work the do is recirculated.

 

[ORclimber]

You probably want 2 tanks. For dormant sprays plants with blue tint(blue spruce) have there color changed by one of the products so blue tinted plants get sprayed out of one tank, everything else out of the other. Then in the spring and summer you can have products approved for fruit trees in one tank and the ornamental product in the other.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

That evergreen issue is with hort oil, the tint is in the waxy coating on the needle. The ort oils disolve the wax.

I have heard that this will happen with any evergreen and can lead to heavier drought stress and scoarching in the summer. A couple of companies in my area are leaining away from the oils with adelgid problems and the like, especialy if you have to return every year for protective applications.

 

[treeist]

I have a great two tank hundred gallon sprayer that pumps ten gallons per minute. I spray 25 or 30 foot trees and small and shrubs easily I also have a root feeder attachment. A great combination for me for root disease is merit,subdue maxx fungicide, water sol fert. The Merit is great for long term systemic insecticide. Subdue Maxx is the first Ive seen that is labeled and works for armalaria and phytopthra. I try to put as much as I can in the ground. For fruit and trees with leaf diseases I use Clearys 336 fungicide with hort oil in winter. I have not tried spraying summer oils. I also use mauget products but not as much as I used to.

John Kakouris
Certified Arborist
since 88

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I'm leary of using fungicides for bulk applications. How do the mychorrizea react to this stuff? I have heard of using Subdue as a paint or drench on root prunning.

My understanding of Armelaria is that it is somewhat ubiquitouse, the tree needs some sort of stress/wounding for it to get in.

 

[treeist]

My understanding is that it does not bother mycorrhyzae. The results are great, I mean customers trees that look half dead turn around almost immediatly. Really the first fungicide ive seen that works in the soil this well. If a tree is being cut off from its roots by root disease the myccorhyzae does not have a chance to work very well. Could be that the root disease and the myc. are both killed but the response says otherwise. Try it on a tree and see for yourself. I thought you would say something about using fert. on trees that have armalaria of wich I only use very little.

John kakouris
certified 15 yrs
John's pruning service
JPS

 

[treeist]

Armalaria only needs the correct environment i.e. warmth, lack of air , and moisture. Armalaria is present in nearly all soils especially old woodlands. when a lawn is grown under a tree frequent watering shallow watering sets up ideal conditions. Also if the grade has been raised the above ground bark is physiologically different from root bark, armalaria has an inroad here.
John

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I'm like a broken record with NPK, I thought I'ld give everyone else a break

 

[TREEGODFATHER]

300gal with a Hypro d30 and a good gun will get you 30-45 up.

You need to find a high gpm high psi pump. $1000 and up range.

The tank will be though of later after you think of how much work you can do in a day, and what to mount it on.

Tree spraying is not cheap. FMC is a popular brand with a dual piston pump.

 

[Paul O'Neill]

I currently use a 200 gal trailered rig. It is easy to get around behind my 3/4ton pickup. It has a 8hp honda engine and Kappa55 pump. I can get 60' on a calm day thru the 3/4" hose. I would think that the 200gal is about the min you would want. It is ok for pest, but a little small for fert application. I would like to have a system that is 500 - 1000gal capacity but definitly with multiple tanks. That gives you large capacity when you need it and versitility for when you don't.

 

[Ldujets]

yo

 

[Ldujets]

yo