Sprayer Makes Three Applications

Sprayer makes three applications CROPS Weed Control 14-5-8 "My 3-in-1 homebuilt spray cart and hooded bander lets me control all of my weeds in one pass," says Mike Jorgenson, Montevideo, Minn., about his one-of-akind 3-way sprayer. He mounted a 300-gal. polyethylene tank on an old wagon frame that he pulls behind his 3-pt. mounted, 12-row hooded sprayer. The system lets Jorgenson control weeds three ways: By banding Pursuit herbicide inside the hoods, by using drop nozzles to spray Roundup between hoods, and by broadcasting Pursuit with a 30-ft. wide "boomless" nozzle mounted behind the spray cart. A 15-gal. tank mounted above the spray boom itself contains Roundup and the 300-gal. tank on the wagon frame contains Pursuit. Jorgenson pulls both rigs with an old 1954 Fordson 40 hp diesel tractor. "I've never been so pleased with my weed control," says Jorgenson, a wheat and soybean grower who built the sprayer system with the help of Mick Abner, Benson, Minn., and employee Luther Peterson. "I band Pursuit to control wild sunflowers and cockleburs and I spray Roundup between the rows to control quackgrass and other grass weeds. In heavy patches of wild sunflowers or cockleburs, I turn on the boomless nozzle to broadcast Pursuit at 1/3 the normal rate while I continue to band, resulting in overall coverage of Pursuit at 1 1/3 the normal rate over the row. I had tried everything I could think of to control sunflowers and cocklebur cost, but nothing worked to my satisfaction. My system is cheaper and offers more effective control than broadcasting Basagran with a pickup sprayer. Pursuit is a fail safe herbicide, and by banding the primary application I don't have to worry about carryover on wheat. My system cost about $3,000 to put together, but I've already paid for it in the money I saved by banding Pursuit. "A big advantage of my spray set-up is that I can pull it with a small tractor. Many farmers who use 3-pt. mounted sprayers mount a 200-gal. or larger tank on top of the sprayer so you need gauge wheels and alarge tractor to pull it. Also you can't see the sprayer as well because the tank blocks the view. My wagon-frame spray cart lets me pull a larger, 300-gal. tank with a small tractor and I've got great visibility." The hooded sprayer is made by Custom Ag Products, Benson, Minn. A spray wand mounted on the 3-pt. hitch lets Jorgenson reach over the tractor fender to spot spray Roundup around fencelines and tile intakes. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mike Jorgenson, RR 1, Montevideo, Minn. 56265 (ph 612 734-4951).

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