STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDUREMECHANICAL SPRAYER

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Potential Benefit

PRO

Time

Efficiency

Potential Risk

CON Terrain conditions

Slope

Ergonomics

PROS ■ Time Allows you to cover a far greater area in a set time frame. ■ Ergonomics Reduce the strain being placed on the workers, as they do not need to physically carry the knapsack with the pesticide being applied.

■ Efficiency A more uniform result improving the efficacy of the pesticide.

CONS ■ Slope Incline/decline limitations of both tractors and spray carts.

■ Terrain conditions ■ Avoid weed/coppice re-growth height over 1.5m – hinders access, negatively affects pesticide effectiveness, can potentially lead to serious pesticide damage to planted trees. ■ Stumps – hinder access. ■ Rocky outcrops – damage machinery. ■ Steep road banks – hinder access.

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The pump, preferably hydraulic, is positioned below the tank containing the pesticide to be sprayed. The spraying operation is activated by engaging the tractor hydraulic, or PTO drive system (with shaft correctly shrouded) and then activating the desired valves. The valve bank needs to be easily and ergonomically accessible to the tractor driver. The pesticide is pumped through appropriate piping along the boom of the tractor, to either nozzles (attached to the boom) or drop down hoses with attached lances and nozzles, which release the pesticide onto the target vegetation or pests.

Tractor drawn mechanical, and semi-mechanical, spraying operations comprise various tank configurations attached to the 3-point linkage of an agricultural tractor.

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Pre-planting ■ Herbicide - Broadcast spray – controlling all undesirable vegetation.

Post-planting ■ Herbicide – selective systemic – lances attached to tractor boom: ■ Coning operations – broadcast spray – targeting all weeds. ■ Chemical hoe – targeting identified weed species.

USES

PRE-APPLICATION

1. Application plan

2. Risk assessment

3. Correct pesticide selection

4. Weather conditions

5. Site setupEmergency cleanup kit

Heavy duty plastic bag

Shovel

Sand

Broom

PPE

First aid

WaterDrinking

Refilling

WHILE OPERATING

6. Tractor and spray cart setup

Regularly maintained

Daily inspectionChecked for leaks

7. Correct nozzle selection

8. Calibrated

9. Filling procedure

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PRE-ENTRY RISK ASSESSMENT & SPRAY PLAN

Spray plan A pre-determined route needs to be designed for the compartments being sprayed. This should take into account:

■ Slope: DO NOT WORK ALONG THE CONTOUR. ■ Direction of spray. ■ Areas to be avoided (i.e. water bodies, neighbouring crops and homesteads, conservation areas), or could be negatively affected by spray drift, as well as buffer zones.

PESTICIDE SELECTION

TIPWG approved list pesticideEnsure the pesticide about to be used is on the list and thus complies with all South African legislation and certification requirements.

Label instructionsNeed to be understood and followed at all times. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) need to be available.

WEATHER CONDITIONS

■ Wind speed – can cause chemical drift. ■ Ensure the application method is appropriate for the weather conditions: ■ Open nozzle spraying - no wind. ■ Coning or enclosed booms - slight wind. ■ Dribble bar - windier conditions. ■ Rain – Know the rain-fastness of the pesticide being used. ■ If the wind speed changes significantly during spraying, spray operations need to be adjusted accordingly.

SITE SET-UP

WaterStrategically place a bulk water unit for refilling close to the spray site, so to avoid unnecessary delays.

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Health and safety ■ First aider and first aid kit on site. ■ Report sickness. ■ Emergency clean up kit – adhere to the label specifications, if not stated then ensure the following minimum: ■ Shovel ■ Heavy duty plastic bag ■ Sand ■ Broom

■ Extra PPE available in a demarcated area.

Well-beingAccess to clean drinking water. No eating, drinking, toilet breaks or smoking while operating. Ensure hands and face are washed prior to eating, drinking, smoking and toilet breaks.

TRACTOR SET UP

■ All machinery needs to be regularly maintained as per manufacturer specifications.

■ Daily check-lists should be completed by appointed operator and signed off by respective manager/forester.

■ All machinery should be inspected prior to spraying, this should include tightening pipes, fittings and nozzles. Additional care needs to be taken to look for leaks. ■ Tanks should be flushed if they are not used for extended periods.

■ Tractors should be fully refuelled prior to spraying.

Make sure the nozzle selected delivers the appropriate cover and water volume, refer to label. Ensure the same nozzle type is used across the entire boom.

■ Chemical hoeing - raindrop type nozzles as they have heavy, coarse droplet sizes which reduces spray drift. ■ Coning - flat fan type nozzles as they create good coverage and overlapping. ■ Coppice regrowth - narrow angle full cone nozzle as this supplies good penetration and coverage.

NOZZLE SELECTION

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CALIBRATION

NOTE: Spray operations associated with tractor mounted booms that involve spray techniques that do not conform to a consistent swath and speed, (coning / chemical hoeing) are difficult to calibrate. Therefore, a percentage volume, as indicated on the label, should be applied.

■ Fill the tank with clean water. ■ Set pressure to pre-determined pressure for the operation in hand. ■ Measure a calibration distance – a minimum of 100m. ■ Ensure the tractor is geared correctly, so it will work at a constant/acceptable spraying speed (0.5m/second or 1 km/hour). Note the terrain being sprayed will determine the final speed. ■ Record the time it takes to drive one swath of full-cover spraying over the measured distance. ■ Repeat twice more to get an average. ■ Measure the width of the spray pattern over the entire boom. Check individual spray patterns over bare soil to verify an even spray distribution and nozzle overlap. ■ With the tractor stationary, place a suitable sized measuring jug under one of the nozzles and commence spraying for average time recorded above. ■ Measure the collected volume of water. Then repeat the step twice to get an average.

TOTAL VOLUME WATER REQUIRED PER HECTARE

You first need to work out the TOTAL VOLUME sprayed during the calibration. This is done by taking the average collected volume of water from a single nozzle and multiplying it by the number of nozzles being used.

You also need to work out the TOTAL AREA sprayed this is simply the calibration distance used multiplied by the spray width measured.

FILLING PROCEDURE

ALL PERSONS INVOLVED WITH MIXING MUST WEAR THE CORRECT PPE – refer to label prior to filling. Ensure all the filters/sieves inserted at the nozzle ends are present and clean.

■ Check spray nozzles are firmly attached. ■ Use a flat hose to fill the tank, ensuring the water used is clean and a water filter is in place. ■ Pour in the pre-measured volume of pesticide, as water is being added to the tank. This ensures proper mixing. ■ Ensure any surplus pesticides and empty containers are disposed off accordingly - Refer to SOP Disposal.

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Pre-plant spraying Post-plant sprayingSpraying rig enters the compartment, folds out the booms, engages the pump, selects the correct tractor gear (determined in calibration) and commences spraying.

Spraying rig enters the compartment, folds out the booms, fits the lances to the boom at the quick coupling points, lifts the boom, engages the pump, selects the correct tractor gear (determined in calibration) and commences spraying.

The set up procedure for the mechanical spraying is largely determined by whether the spraying operation is a pre or post-plant operation:

APPLICATION

1. Follow spray plan 2. Use calibration speed 3. Travel up and down the slope

4. Spray team are evenly matched and swop postion

5. Detach when turning

6. Aware

Boom Seedlings Slope Weatherconditions

Obstacles

SPRAYING PROCEDURE

The mechanical sprayer must maintain the same speed as was used in the calibration exercise to ensure the correct volume of pesticide is applied. The spray team must follow a clear, pre-determined, spraying plan that ensures no area is sprayed twice or missed.

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SPRAY OPERATORS

■ Need to be wearing correct PPE according to the pesticide label, refer to SOP PPE. ■ NO person allowed within 20m of operational spray unit unless wearing suitable PPE. ■ Extreme care must be taken not to spray seedlings during post-planting herbicide spraying. ■ Sprayers must be evenly matched in terms of physical ability and walking speed. ■ Sprayers must swop positions periodically during the day to relieve the static nature of holding the pipe for long periods. ■ Be alert to objects and uneven terrain that could hinder spraying operations. ■ Take extra care when working behind booms – uneven terrain can cause them to swing suddenly. ■ Detach the lance at the quick coupling points when turning or travelling.

NOTE: If conditions change (slope, terrain) or machinery changes (tractor, spray cart) the calibration needs to be repeated to ensure accuracy.

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POST-SPRAYING

Washing ■ PPE to be washed separately. ■ Wash gloved hands before removing gloves and then wash hands and face before eating, drinking, smoking or going to the toilet. ■ Wash body from the top down.

STORE SAFELY:

Refer to BOP for Disposal

RINSING(including filters)

clean water

WASH 1. Wash PPE separately 2. Wash hands and face before eating or drinking

3. Wash from top down

DISPOSAL OF SURPLUS

Never store with pesitcide left inside

Refer to BOP for Disposal

POST-APPLICATION