Introduction
All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and utility vehicles (UTVs) are widely used for spraying herbicides on range and forest lands. Although large agricultural sprayers have technology that allows them to apply herbicides consistently and uniformly, that technology is just beginning to be adapted for ATVs and UTVs. The Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC) tested an ATV sprayer that can apply liquid herbicides at a constant rate while the ATV is traveling between 2 and 4½ miles per hour (figure 1). Without this technology, the application rate would vary whenever the ATV speeds up or slows down. Applying herbicide at a constant rate helps reduce the possibility that too much herbicide might be applied, reduces the applicator's exposure to herbicides, and is more effective and economical. The cost of the sprayer, including the tank and boomless nozzle, is about $2,225.
Figure 1—A constant-rate herbicide sprayer on a Honda Foreman ATV.
This system can spray a constant 13 gallons per acre while the ATV is
traveling between 2 and 4½ miles per hour. This setup used a
single
22-foot-wide boomless nozzle.
Highlights...
- ATVs are being widely used to apply herbicides.
- MTDC tested a system that allows herbicide to be applied at a constant rate even when the ATV's speed changes.
- Such a system can reduce the possibility that too much herbicide might be applied, reduce the applicator's exposure to herbicides, and is more effective and economical than standard systems used on ATVs.
