As the growing season kicks off, now’s the perfect time to make sure your vineyard sprayer is calibrated and ready to go. Proper calibration ensures you’re applying the right amount of product to your vines—maximizing effectiveness, minimizing waste, and protecting both your crop and the environment.
Why calibrate?
Over- or under-application can cost you—either in lost yield or wasted materials (or both). Calibration helps ensure every drop goes exactly where it’s needed. There’s a new page on the website to collect different guides for calibration – https://viticulture.uga.edu/spraying-calibration/
What to check:
- Nozzles: Clean and inspect for wear or clogs. Replace if needed.
- Pressure: Confirm the system maintains consistent pressure across all nozzles.
- Speed & Flow Rate: Match sprayer speed with nozzle output for uniform coverage.
- Coverage: Test spray with water and assess canopy coverage—adjust as necessary.
This goes for any tool that you use to apply pesticides to your vines, though the methods may vary depending on what type of sprayer you are using. See the links below for step by step guides for calibrating several common tools (these also focus on reducing the amount of math required for these calibrations! See the apps/websites to cover the rest of it!).
EVENTS:
- Tuesday, April 15th, 2025 – 12:00-1:30PM – Vineyard Sprayer Best Practices Webinar! (Free, but registration required). This is the last of the Eastern Viticulture and Enology (EVEF) Forum webinars for the season! A link to the recorded webinar will be emailed to registrants within ten business days after the live event. The recording will be accessible for six months from the event date. https://extension.psu.edu/vineyard-sprayer-best-practices-expert-forum-discussion
Calibration resources for:
- Airblast sprayer
- Los Rociadores de aire (airblast sprayer Spanish version)
- Backpack sprayer
- Weed sprayer
Other helpful tips:
Continuing Educational Resources and Apps to help!
- Sprayer101.com by Jason Deveau
- Effective Vineyard (and Orchard) Spraying: A Practical Guide for Growers by Andrew Landers
- Apps:
- Mix My Sprayer (by Clemson)
- TankMixCalculator
- TankMix
- Spray_Calculator
- TeeJet SpraySelect
- Vine Tech
- MapMyRide
- SnapCard
- OrchardMAX
