| Spraying
The Importance of sprayer testing
Everyone will agree that accurate application of pesticides is not only desirable but essential whether for the
environment, the consumer or the grower.
ccurate and
targeted use of
pesticides is all
part of modern
agriculture. That
why back in the
mid 90’s the Chemical Application
members of the Agricultural
Engineers Association (AEA)
devised a test for application
machinery to make sure it was
working as intended and with a
qualified operator would apply
pesticides accurately and on
target. In the early years of 2000
this test became the National
Sprayer Testing Scheme as one of
the main pillars of the Voluntary
Initiative. NSTS now tests around
16,500 machines annually and this
test also satisfies the requirements
of the Sustainable Use Directive
(SUD), which requires that all
pesticide application equipment,
sprayers, slug pellet applicators,
granular applicators etc., need to
be tested by 26th November 2016
and at regular intervals thereafter.
NSTS is an accepted part of
arable agriculture and requirement
of the major crop assurance
A
schemes and supermarket
protocols, requiring that farmers
and growers have their sprayers
inspected annually. This
requirement will continue and one
of the annual tests will satisfy the
SUD requirements.
The NSTS is available through a
network of test centres who have
qualified examiners available to
inspect and confirm the equipment
is of the standard required. The
test is usually carried out at the
machine owner’s premises and at
a mutually agreed convenient
time. The examiner will charge for
the inspection, NSTS have no
input into the cost of individual
tests; the cost is commercial at the
point of use. Additionally machine
owners are free to use their
nearest or preferred test centre.
The operator or owner of the
machine can prepare the sprayer
for the test using a test sheet
available from the NSTS website.
Owners and operators are
encouraged to be present during
the test and will receive three
NRoSO points for doing so.
As confirmation of the result of
the test the examiner will apply a
pass sticker to the machine and
give the owner a copy of the test
report form. Other copies of the
form are returned to NSTS
Administration where the
information is retained on a
database of all tested machines.
This information is available to
Crop Assurance Certification
Bodies for verification.
With the continued threat of
more pesticides being lost, now is
the time to contribute to accurate
and targeted application
procedures, NSTS testing helps
achieve that. Having a NSTS will
also satisfy the Sustainable Use
Directive which requires all
sprayers to be tested by 26th
November 2016. Find out more by
visiting the NSTS website
www.nsts.org.uk
Spray water rate use on farm
By Harry Henderson, Knowledge Exchange manager for AHDB Cereals &
Oilseeds covering the East Midlands region.
ou know how it goes. You are
entirely focused on harvest
then, before you know it, you
are back on the sprayer
seemingly playing catch-up,
applying pest and weed control
programs and hoping the sprayer is in good
fettle for the upcoming season.
But, taking time to look back over last year’s
spray program, was there anything you would
do differently or better?
Looking at water rates, are you ‘eking out’ a
tank full to cover a certain area of land or are
you taking a more proactive approach to
ensure that an expensive chemical does the
best job it can for you?
AHDB York monitor farmer David Blacker has
taken the latter course of action and raised
water rates 280lt/ha for all soil-acting preemergence herbicide applications and applying
it through fore and aft facing