The dynamic behaviour of field sprayer booms

Abstract The wide variations in spray deposit which were found in an earlier survey to occur in field spraying operations were mainly ascribed as an effect of the errant behaviour of sprayer booms. It was suggested that vertical and horizontal boom tip movements resulted from rotational motions of the sprayer. Measurements were taken of the movement of the booms and sprayer frames of a representative sample of sprayer types and sizes operating in typical cereal spraying conditions. It was concluded that whilst there are some features which would be best avoided in boom design and construction the main cause of boom movements was the transmission to the boom of the rapid rolling motion of the sprayer. For better stability booms should be constructed as stiff beams and attached through suspensions which isolate them as much as possible from the rolling motion.