SUBMIT AN IMAGE FROM THE FARM, SMALLHOLDING OR COMMUNITY GARDEN.

SUBMIT AN IMAGE FROM  THE  FARM, SMALLHOLDING OR COMMUNITY GARDEN.

Here's a pic to get the ball rolling.

30.06.14 Common Duiker Sylvicapra grimmia Captured on camera trap on our 28 hectare smallholding. Take a careful look.

Please submit  farm or even community garden related images. JUST E-MAIL IT.  I'll select re-size and attempt to post them. Equipment, ploughing (plowing), planting, spraying, harvesting, vegetables, fruit, flowers, weather, fishing, hunting, birding. A short one line description will do. If you wish to remain anonymous just say so. The idea is to get as many pics from all over the world.

01.07.14 Malawi.  Dryland maize.

FRIDAY 11TH JULY 2014 - WHOLESALE NURSERY WITH KRUGER NATIONAL PARK IN THE BACKGROUND.    V. Svacha

MONDAY 28TH JULY 2014 -  Ceiba speciosa  formerly Chorisia speciosa with Macadamias and   Citrus in the background.

FRIDAY 1ST AUGUST 2014  -  Tobacco seedling production.  Boom-sprayer for irrigation and fertigation.

FRIDAY 8TH AUGUST - 788's  -  MACS IN FLOWER.

20.08.2014   Can you see the Grey Duiker?

chemicon@multispray.com

    

CYCLES - THEY COME AND GO.

CYCLES - THEY COME AND GO.

Translation: Guinea Fowl? Mmmm! 500 breeders and just two restaurants.  Don't worry, I farmed with ostriches. Ever heard of the macadam train?

The macadam train is on its way.  

SUGARCANE - ROW APPLICATION l/ha and l/min calculations

SUGARCANE - ROW APPLICATION

Cane or sugarcane is planted locally in rows at 1.5 or 1.9 metre centres. When it comes to liquid fertiliser applications the rate per hectare is known. For example a product may be applied at 100 litres per treated hectare. The speed at which it is applied will vary due to the equipment and the terrain. When dealing with high fertiliser concentrates it may be better to apply the product to standing crops in a single or multiple solid stream pattern to minimise leaf-burn.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE.

FERTX at 100 l/ha. Speed 6 km/hr. Cane row spacing 1.9 metres. Application as a single solid stream. Refer to page 45 in Catalogue 51M. We need to determine the flow rate of a nozzle-tip in litres per minute??

l/min = l/ha x speed in km/hr x swath or rather row spacing in metres ÷ 600

l/min = 100 l/ha x 6 km/hr x 1.9m ÷ 600 = 1.9 litres per minute

That was quite handy ...600 divided by 600 leaves 1.9. For an explanation of the 600 constant refer to the previous posting.

With a bit of algerbraic jiggery-pokery you can reverse the process and given the flow rate you can determine the litres per hectare:

l/ha = 600 x l/min ÷ km/hr x m 

l/ha = 600 x 1.9 ÷ 6 x 1.9 = 100 l/ha

Looking in the catalogue on page 45 you'll find a H1/4U SS 0006 or a TP0006-SS. At 2 bar or 200 kPa this tip delivers 1.93 litres per minute. Close enough for the real world!

By now you must be asking what do these tip numbers mean? The HU type refers to a spray-tip with a 1/4" thread male inlet, the SS stands for Stainless Steel and the 0006 refers to the angle and flow rate. The first 2 digits (00) refer to the angle and in this case it is zero degrees (solid steam)  and the 06 refers to the rated flow rate in United States gallons per minute at a specific pressure. A USGal is 3.7854 litres. An Imperial gal is 4.54 litres. (Customs officials helped themselves to the difference when they imported Scotch from across the pond) Neat little excise duty as the story goes. Anyway the 06 means 0.6 gal per minute or 2.27 litres per minute at 40 pounds per square inch or about 2.8 bar pressure.

BE CAREFUL! THE SPACING IN THE CATALOGUE IS 75 CM OR 0.75 METRES.

If you are not happy with these formulas refer to the postings covering calibration.

The real world.  Overall or broadcast application at 8'000 litres per hectare. Speed 7 km/hr. Swath 1.5 m. Flow rate?

chemicon@multispray.com

Tel Intl: +27 83 2890 327

Tel Natl: 083 289 0327 

FERTILISERS AND FUMIGANTS. METERING OR FLOW REGULATION - ORIFICE PLATES

FERTILISERS AND FUMIGANTS.   METERING OR FLOW REGULATION - ORIFICE PLATES - TREATED HECTARES AND WATCH OUT FOR PRODUCT SG (SPECIFIC GRAVITY.)

Here are a few examples of orifice plates which are placed in-line to accurately meter or regulate the flow of soil fumigants or fertilisers.

This tractor with a five-tine implement is applying a sub-surface fumigant as an overall application.

A single or double tine setup could be used per row.

This will have a dramatic impact on the usage per field hectare. 

Also note, in this case the fumigant must be applied as supplied i.e. in its concentrated form.    Remember the specific gravity for water is 1 (1litre weighs 1 kilogram) and the SG for this product is 1.2.       20% heavier than water.

A beautiful image of the orifice plate showing how it should be mounted in the nozzle assembly. Inlet on the left and outlet on the right.

NOTE THAT THE NUMBERED SIDE OF THE ORIFICE PLATE MUST FACE THE OUTLET.

IF  NOT TOO SURE ABOUT TREATED HECTARES AND FIELD HECTARES PLEASE REFER TO THE POSTS COVERING CALIBRATION AND AREA.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE:

Overall fumigant application using the 5-tine setup. The fumigant is to be applied at 60 litres per hectare. The tines are spaced at 50 cm or 0.5 metre centres on the drawbar. Speed is 5 kilometres per hour. We need to calculate the flow rate in litres per minute.

l/min = (60 litres / ha x 5 km per hour x swath or spacing of tine 0.5 metres) ÷ 600

= 0.25 litres per minute

Oh dear! Where does the 600 come from?  It's a constant which pops up as there are 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour, 1'000 metres in a kilometre and the swath is used in metres instead of centimetres.

So we need to find an orifice plate that matches the flow rate of 0.25 l/min or 250 ml per minute. Refer to page 44 of the TeeJet 51M catalogue. The CP4916-25 will do the trick at 2 bar or 200 kPa.

BUT!! Watch out for the SG of the product. In this case the SG is 1.2 (1 LITRE WEIGHS 1.2 KG) and the conversion factor is 1.1 so merely multiply 0.25 l/min x 1.1 = 0.28 l/min. Check the table again and you'll see that you have merely to increase the pressure to 2.5 bar or 250 kPa.

Ok! So you could have multiplied the product rate of 60 l/ha by 1.1 and come out with the same result. Six of one half dozen of another.

Next post I'll look at row application in Sugarcane.

REAL WORLD.  WHAT ABOUT THE TEMPERATURE OF THE PRODUCT AND WHAT ABOUT WHEEL SLIPPAGE?  THE WORLD ISN'T FLAT.  

Tel Intl : +27 83 289 0327

Tel Natl : 083 289 0327

chemicon@multispray.com

FLOW RATES - LITRES PER MINUTE VS PRESSURE. NON-LINEAR!

FLOW RATES - LITRES PER MINUTE VS PRESSURE. NON-LINEAR!

When salary earners have no pride or interest in what they are selling then they are merely salary receivers. It is disappointing to see how poorly equipped some sales people are.  For example, I needed some PTFE tape to seal up a pipe thread.  The salesman at the local hardware store took on a distinctly blank look when I asked where they kept the PTFE tape? ' No we don't have that.' he mumbled.  Dragging him around to the plumbing section I pointed it out to him. Never heard of it and couldn't care less if he lost a sale. Conclusion! The employer merely needs a body to stand behind the counter at minimum cost.

A young farmer informs me that a spray-gun he'd purchased from an ag supplier has a nozzle-tip with a two millimetre hole which according to the salesman 'means 2 litres per minute.' The worst is that he accepted this statement without question. Where do they dig up this drivel?

This got me thinking about the relationship between flow rates and pressure. IF A NOZZLE-TIP DELIVERS 1 LITRE PER MINUTE AT 1 BAR PRESSURE WILL IT DELIVER 2 LITRES PER MINUTE AT 2 BAR? The simple fact is this. For a nozzle to double its output the pressure has to be increased fourfold.

Here's how to do the calculation. You need to know the flow rate for a nozzle-tip at a specific pressure. Call this l/min₁ and the pressure bar₁

Example: Nozzle-tip delivers 1.8 l/min (l/min₁) at 4 bar (bar₁). What will the flow rate be at 16 bar (bar₂) or 4 times the pressure?

l/min₂ @ 16 bar = 1.8 x √ bar₂ ÷ √ bar₁ = 1.8 x √ 16 ÷ √ 4 = 1.8 x 4 ÷ 2 = 3.6 l/min

Where √ = square root

Check out the AITX 8004 VK Conejet on page 38 of the 51 M catalogue.

Here's the formula again : l₂ = l₁ x √ b₂ ÷ √ b₁

In the real world the flow rate or the pressure may not be specified.

Tel Intl: +27 83 289 0327

Tel Natl :  083 289 0327

chemicon@multispray.com