Combine Sprays Weeds During Harvest

Combine sprays weeds during harvest COMBINES Conversions 16-4-35 "It lets me spot spray Roundup on quack-grass with my combine while I harvest corn. Works great," says Jean Fiedler, Sauk Centre, Minn., who mounted a "drop tube" spraying system on the header of his Gleaner combine. Fiedler fitted the 6-row header with two 55-gal. barrels and a framework that sup-ports seven 6-ft. long, 3/8-in. dia. steel drop tubes fitted with flat fan nozzles suspended 30 in. above the ground. Herbicide is delivered through plastic tubes strapped to the framework. When Fiedler sees a patch of quackgrass, he simply flips a switch on the combine's header height control lever to spray weeds between rows. Fiedler put the system together last year before beginning harvest of his 1,200 acres of corn. "I got excellent weed control. I sprayed a total of about 150 acres. The beauty of spraying while combining is that I have a great view from the cab and can easily see the quackgrass between rows," says Fiedler. "I could wait to spray until after corn is harvested but then the quackgrass is buried under stalks, leaves, and chaff. Atrazine does a good job of controlling quackgrass, but I don't like to use it because of carryover. Postemergence herbicides such as Accent and Beacon also do a good job. However, broadcast applications cost $18 to $20 per acre. By spot spraying Roundup, I can treat problem areas for about $14 per acre. I keep spray pressure at a constant 5 lbs. so whenever I flip the switch off, the herbicide flow stops instantly." The barrels are mounted on either side of the header, strapped to a 10-in. wide channel iron bar running across the top of the header. A pair of uprights bolted to the channel iron supports two 11 ft. long steel bars thatangle upward in front of the header. The spray boom fastens across the ends of the steel bars. Drop tubes attach to the steel bar with harrow springs that allow the tubes to snap back into place whenever they catch on corn stalks. "Harrow springs give flexibility to the steel tubes and relieve stress on the entire framework," says Fiedler.T h e herbicide barrels are plumbed to a 2.8-gal. per min. diaphragm pump powered by an electric motor. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jean Fiedler, Sauk Centre, Minn. 56378 (ph 612 352-6928).

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