Researches Regarding the Reliability of the Spraying Nozzles Used for Vineyard and Orchard Sprayers

The spraying equipments used for pest and disease control have a significant effect over the maintenance technologies in vineyards and orchards. The phytosanitary treatments are efficient if they comply with the following conditions: application in due time; minimum consumption of active substances; uniform distribution of the solution on the surface of the leaves; reduced contamination effect over the environment etc. These requirements can only be achieved by technologically advanced and precise equipments, with high reliability; reliability is required because 12-16 treatments are performed during the vegetation period and because the chemical substances used for pest and disease control are highly corrosive towards the materials used for the hydraulic system of the equipment. The paper presents the results of the tests concerning the reliability of the spraying equipment nozzles; the tests were based on an adequate research method and were performed in a specially designed laboratory. The results showed that there was significant wear of the nozzles’ orifices, leading, in time, to major variations of the flowing rate. A statistical analysis of the experimental data resulted in the deduction of the equations for the flow rate variations as a function of time.