Spray Rodeo Day: Teaching Spray Equipment Calibration and Pesticide Safety
Agronomy & Pest Management
Matthew VanWeelden
Extension Agent III
UF/IFAS Extension Palm Beach County
BELLE GLADE
Abstract
Spray Rodeo Day is an event designed to educate agriculture pesticide applicators and their supervisors the methods for properly calibrating spray equipment, while also emphasizing pesticide safety. From 2015 to 2020, I have organized five annual Spray Rodeo Days at the University of Florida Everglades Research and Education Center in Belle Glade, FL. Each applicator/supervisor team was asked to bring their large-boom spray rig to the event to use in three hands-on teaching stations: 1) equipment speed calibration, 2) nozzle output, and 3) equipment computer calibration. Each station was designed to teach a specific aspect of equipment calibration, while using each applicator/supervisor team's large-boom spray rig as a teaching tool. Following hands-on calibration events, each team was provided educational materials on worker protection standards for enclosed cab equipment. Each spray operator was provided a questionnaire regarding cumulative acreage sprayed per year by crop type. An important objective of Spray Rodeo Day is to target rigs with nozzle outputs > 10% error, so that these rigs can be properly calibrated prior to the start of the traditional weed and pest spray season. Across five annual events, a total of 49 spray rigs were calibrated, recording a total of 611,534 cumulative acres of sugarcane and leafy vegetables sprayed from 2015-2020. To put this in perspective, one large-boom sprayer servicing 60,000 acres/season, spraying 10% over target rate, would over-apply roughly $150,000 of unnecessary pesticide. Based on survey data collected from the 2015-2020 Spray Rodeo Days, 23 large-boom spray rigs exhibited at least 10% of nozzles spraying out of range, which could have amounted up to $3,450,000 in excess pesticides applied to cropping systems in the Everglades Agricultural Area. With this knowledge and hands-on training, operators will be able to calibrate spray nozzles which will result in more effective spray coverage, reducing the cost of pesticide application and limiting excess pesticides from entering waterways.
Authors: Matthew VanWeelden
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Matthew VanWeelden Extension Agent III, University of Florida IFAS Extension , Florida, 33430