Pull Type Orchard Sprayers For Sale

About Pull-Type Orchard Sprayers

Over the decades, applying herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and other chemicals has become one of a grower’s most important and frequently performed tasks. For applications in orchards, pull-type sprayers are one of three main types used to manage weeds, insects, and disease, with self-propelled and 3-point/mounted models making up the rest of the market. Sprayers in general have been around since the late 1800s, with the first models using horse-driven power. The first air-assisted, or “air blaster,” orchard sprayers date to the mid-1960s. While pull-type models aren’t considered as maneuverable on slopes and end rows and may lack the visibility that mounted sprayers provide, their large tank capacities can result in less time filling tanks and more time spent spraying.

Sprayer Methods

Usually pulled by a tractor and powered by PTO, pull-type orchard sprayers are used to treat various orchard crops, including citrus, apple, berries, grapes, and nuts. Depending on the crop, a grower may choose a particular spraying approach, such as using a boom system. Models with tall towers equipped with multiple, directional fans and adjustable nozzles, meanwhile, are commonly used to spray tall grape vines and to direct spray higher into tree canopies. Many models use air delivery or air-assist methods that entail piston or diaphragm pumps and axial or centrifugal fans to push water-chemical mixtures at crops, while others utilize electrostatic technology that involves the dispersal of highly charged droplets that some consider to provide a more even coating.

Components & Features

Pull-type orchard sprayers typically entail a large stainless-steel or poly-constructed tank that may hold anywhere from 250 to 1,000 or more gallons, mounted on a sturdy steel frame equipped with one or two axles, which may be adjustable. In addition to variable-pitch fans with eight or more 24- to 48-inch steel or aluminum blades, pull-type sprayers can variously include mechanical agitation systems, fill and delivery strainers, hydraulic and electric spray controls, multiple-speed gearboxes, independent air outlets, joystick and remote control systems, lighting systems, pressure regulators, rate controllers, under-vine blowers, adjustable and foldable booms (possibly with breakaway support), hand spray guns, and individual shut-off valves.