I have a field that is about four acres in size. A local farmer has had it planted in clover/ alf alfa the last few years (mostly grass now) He wants to spray it this summer and plant with radishes and clover to help the soil. Next year it would be planted with soy beans. I have 6 apple trees that are 6 to 10 feet in height and about 40 that I have in tubes around the edges of the field. I have no experience with how much the spray would drift and I am worried about the trees getting killed. Any experiences anyone can share. I understand it would depend on windy it is the day of the spraying.
Herbicide drift question
- Thread starter gasman
- Start date
buckmaster27012
Member
how good of a sprayer does the farmer have? i've seen the one spray at my house with blowing blowing 10 mph or so probably and could not hardly seen any sign of drift. he's got one those nice tractor sprayers though not just tank and boom though.
Buckly
Well-Known Member
If he's going with soybeans next year realize that he will probably be spraying then also. Like was said it depends on his equipment and how good he is about staying away from your trees. Spray when super calm with the right nozzles and drift control agents. He should also stay out away from the trees around the edges. Do that and they should be fine. Otherwise, good luck! Do you know what he's planning on using for herbicide?
Chainsaw
Well-Known Member
Many mature apple trees some with low branches grow in hedgerows maybe as close as five feet from the sprayed edge and have never seen any spray damage from farmers using roundup. For such small trees it might be worth considering different things like prespraying your trees with a good rust preventative to maybe reduce the impact of roundup if he is using roundup.That is just an idea--don't KNOW if it would help. I'd also have a large tank of water ready and I'd wash the apple trees leaves with water immediately after he sprays.
The farmer will know before he sprays if your trees are in danger. He will know exactly what kind of drift he gets from his equipment. So I would include getting a heads up from him on your risk factor there.
And as Buckly says "Good Luck" also.
The farmer will know before he sprays if your trees are in danger. He will know exactly what kind of drift he gets from his equipment. So I would include getting a heads up from him on your risk factor there.
And as Buckly says "Good Luck" also.
Not sure what herbicide he is planning on using.
So far he has been good to work with, when he cut the hay he made sure there was enough time to grow back for hunting in the fall. I dont charge him any rent on the land due to small size and remote location.
I will see if he will stear a little wide around the trees and hope for the best.
So far he has been good to work with, when he cut the hay he made sure there was enough time to grow back for hunting in the fall. I dont charge him any rent on the land due to small size and remote location.
I will see if he will stear a little wide around the trees and hope for the best.
X-farmerdan
Well-Known Member
I think the critical factor here is what herbicide farmer might use. Assuming it's glyphosate you don't have much to worry about. A dosage effective on clover/grass/alfalfa isn't going to be effective on an apple tree 6 to 10 feet tall. Murphy said whatever can go wrong will go wrong. So, you might suggest, somehow, lowering the boom (literally), reduce spraying pressure, increase the the per-acre spray volume, use a nozzle that results in a little bigger droplet size, and run a little slower. The height differential will probably help also. The boom will be, what, at most 2 feet off the ground and the leaves are at some feet above that?
