Silvan develops custom spraying solution for almond farm

Spraying equipment expert Silvan has designed and custom built two trailed herbicide sprayers with 2000-litre tanks and 6m wide booms for South Australian almond farm, Aroona Farms.

Located near Lyrup in the South Australian Riverland, Aroona Farms has over 600,000 almond trees in its grove covering an area of 2000 hectares.

A key feature of the custom-made sprayers is the individually folded booms that break away upon contact with obstacles to prevent herbicide from being sprayed on to trees directly.

The sprayer has also been designed to stop automatically in the event of a boom being folded during spraying.

The final 600mm section of each side of the boom is shrouded for direct herbicide application along the tree line and to avoid any spray application to the almond trees.

The sprayer pump has a maximum flow rate of 350 l/min and is hydraulically powered from the tractor remotes.

An additional feature is a 2m wide spray boom that is fixed to the rear of the trailed spray tank.

According to Silvan general manager spraying and machinery, Gavin Wheatcroft, the rear boom is an option for mid-row weed control if seasonal conditions or weed growth warrants.

"In short, the principal function of the two sprayers is to obtain weed control beneath each almond tree line with the option to use the sprayers for mid-row weed control if needed," he says.

"The almond industry continues to seek out best practices for successful plantings and almond production and Silvan welcomed this opportunity to create an appropriate solution for effective under-tree and mid-row weed control."

Visit silvan.com.au for more information.