Vol. 16—1962 - NorthEastern Weed Science Society

'--' The applicators were tested undertbe conditi~ns whielirWould be encountered fn
normal practice. The row crop appJ;1cators were mount~d on a planter and tested
on level land that had been worked and leveled as for corn planting. The planter
shoes were run in the soil. The lawn'spreaders were tested on a bluegrass lawn.
The granules distributed by the row crop applicators, were collected by
placing the delivery tubes into bOttles and the material collected was weighed.
The outpQt of each delivery tube was collected and recorded separately so that
it woulc be determined if there w8s:a difference in the rate of delivery. A
calibration box was designed to collect the herbicide delivered by the lawn
spreaders. The settings on the appl~cators were not changed during the course
of the experiment. The length of each run was 150 feet for the row crop
applicators and 75 feet for the lawn'spreaders.
333
The variables
were:
(1) Three granule sizes - 30/60 granule size l~ 2,4-D; 24/48
granule size l~ DNBPj and 15/30 granule size 2~ CIPC.
(~) Three speeds (2, 4 and 6 mph) for the row crop applicators
or two speeds (2 and 3 ~h) for the lawn spreaders.
(3) Three levels of material in the hopper (~ full, ~ full or full)
The materials used for the different granule sizes were
commercial herbicides on attaclay.
For the field applicators the tachometer on the tractor was used as the
standard and the tractor was run in the lowest gear which would attain the
desired speed, so that each speedwou1d be as constant as possible. A
speedometer was mounted on the lawn spreaders so that the speed could be
determined and maintained as a constant. Four repetitions were made with each
variable, and the data statistically analyzed. .
RESULTSANDDISCUSSION!.
The different applicators used~atied in different ways and so each wi11'
be discussed separately. -
APplicator
I
The weight ·of~materi~l delivered by the machine decreased as the speed'was
increased. This might be explainedtn that once the nt.terial is carried over .
the opening it becomes a matter of gravity feed and the faster the rotor bar:!s
turning the less material will be able; to pass through the opening before the
next blade will sweep away what is left. The left delivery tube yielded
significantly ,greater amounts than the right side.
The effect of particle size was highly significant with most of the
difference being between the 15/30 size and the two smaller sizes. A sharp
decrease in the amount of material delivered occurred between the 15/30 size
particle and the 24/48, and then there was a slight increase to the 30/60
'--' granule size.