Spraying lesson and orchard business analysis

27 January 2015 | Angus Crawford, APAL | Australian Fruitgrower / Future Orchards® article

This article reports on the 2014 Future Orchards® summer walks, where David Manktelow presented practical spray-application lessons and AgFirst reviewed Orchard Business Analysis results. The spraying section shows how work rate and coverage must be balanced rather than treating slower travel or higher water volume as automatically better.

Manktelow highlights canopy targeting, air speed, droplet size, water-sensitive paper and tree-row-volume based application rates. He argues that growers should maximise spraying work rate while still achieving the penetration and deposit needed for the target pest or disease. Small droplets in the 70-150 micron range can improve coverage in many orchard applications, while excessive fan speed can push spray beyond the intended row.

The article then links technical orchard performance with business benchmarking. AgFirst’s Orchard Business Analysis shows how stronger growers combine production, packout and price, and that high profitability does not necessarily mean spending less per hectare. The broader message is to manage both technical efficiency and business performance with measurable data.