For vineyards looking to better protect their vines from disease, Vitifruit Equipment offers a range of electrostatic sprayers which improves the efficacy of sprays through effective coverage while also helping to save water, chemicals and time.
The Martignani electrostatic sprayer relies on a fan to push the spray out (as all air assisted sprayers do) but it also injects about 13,500 volts of negative electricity into optimally sized droplets as they exit the nozzles. As the vine is positively charged, there is a magnetic attraction between the two and the chemicals are consequently attracted to all surfaces of the berries and leaves.
“The degree of disease control with the Martignani is great,” said David Sayell at Vitifruit Equipment. “The combination of electrostatic with the very small droplets sprayed out as a mist allows for excellent coverage. This means it is very competent at spraying with very low volumes of water and there are users in the UK spraying at just 150 litres per hectare. It is then also possible to reduce spray concentration rates.”
The 200 litre Martignani sprayer is compatible with smaller 30 or 40 horsepower tractors and, with reduced spray rates, growers can spray a bigger area on one tank compared to other air assisted sprayers, saving on diesel and time out in the vineyard. Various tank sizes, fans and directional air flow devices are available. Visit www.martignani.com.
