Vol. 16—1962 - NorthEastern Weed Science Society

A LOGARITHMICSPRAlERFORSMALLPLCflSY
77
Introduction
!fBn;I"verfl10ns of the· 10garitbm;1c tJi;e sprayer baVElbeen devised sino« the
advent of the Chesterford Logaritl:ml1c Sprayer, intrQduced by Hartley, Pfeiffer
and Brunskill in 1956(3). The uses for this type of sprayer bave been covered
by Leasure (4). Efforts bave beep.-.de by SOllIe worIEers to develop a logaritbmic
type s:prayerwich~uld be. su1~le for small plots (1,2). In the opin1ol1 of
the autnors moat of these efforta bave failed to· give .. sprayer which 18 truly
suitable to small plot work. ~.t ot the sprayers· aeveloped have used COIIlPlicated
and expensive components (1,2,3,4) and ease of handling with respect :to
portability has in lIIOs'tcases been overlooked. It is realized that simplification
can result in sacrifices in accuracy and other desirable properties,
however, if the desired properties p].us simplicity ean be incorporated,· gains
can be -.de in the range of areas where such a piece of e(Jlipment can be
utilized.
In the work of Ries and Terry (5) with a small p].ot sprayer, the various
desirable properties of small sprayers for experimental work were enumerated.
They are:
1. Accurate herbicide appl:J,cations should be easilY attained on "small
plots" of either a few or a few hundred square feet.
2. Cost should be low.
3. Construction and operation should be simple.
4. Operation should be accurate and efficient under a variety of soil
conditions •
5•. Changing from one herbicide to another should be rapid.
6. Contamination between herbicides must be II$gligible.
7. Agitation of spray liquid should be adequate for a wide range of
materials and formulations.
a. Uniform pressure should be maintained.
9. Apparatus should be sufficiently light in weight to permit easy ope~'atioD.
by one person without need of wheels, tractors, extra personnel.:',e6c •.
It is felt that these features are applicable to 8Il\Y log-sprayer designed for
small plot use. In addition, the property of requiring only small amounts of
chemical is desirable where new herbicides are being tested. The Ries and Terry
sprayer was designed on the basis of the 9 points which they outlined. The
size of their sprayersystem further allows their lJPr'I!lIYer .to f1ll the requirement·
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