The BA Smart Sprayer powered by Smart-Apply® is a density-based spray system that utilises sensor technology, providing viticulturalists and horticulturalists with greater spray application. John Dixon, Operations Manager at BA Pumps and Sprayers, said the system has an abundance of benefits for growers, not least the growth data it can source.

“Unlike traditional sprayers, the BA Smart Spray system utilises LIDAR sensor technology that detects the specific architecture of the canopy,” Dixon explains. “The sensor can create a digital representation of the crop, including height, width, spacing and density of each plant it passes. Each spray nozzle is then controlled independently for instant application and adjustment of spray where required, reducing chemical use and achieving cost savings.”

Field-tested for proven results

Researched, developed and field-tested at the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture over the past decade, the BA Smart Sprayer powered by Smart-Apply® has been proven to reduce spray inputs and spray loss beyond canopies. The system is also proving effective in reducing up to 87% of airborne drift. “The sustainability factors of this technology are huge,” says Dixon. “Both in terms of environmental sustainability as well as economic. The precision this system can achieve has significant long-term benefits for orchards and vineyards by way of healthier plants and cleaner and safer groundwater. Add to that greater overall yields and you can see why we’re excited to have this cutting-edge technology available for the New Zealand market.”

Retro-fitted technology

The system can be retrofitted to existing air blast spray equipment and utilises an Android Tablet for display, enabling easy application. “This interface enables the LIDAR sensor technology to work in tandem with a GPS to determine ground speed and position in the field, thus allowing growers to easily gauge the spray coverage and gather valuable data of their orchard or vineyard,” says Dixon. “But it also offers growers the flexibility to revert to manual spraying if needed.”

The BA Smart Sprayer powered by Smart-Apply® is available to the Australasian market through BA Pumps and Sprayers (formerly known as Bertolini Australasia). BA Pumps and Sprayers will be conducting a series of demo events throughout the country. “After months of planning, and the disruption of COVID, it’s great to finally get out and introduce this pioneering technology to New Zealand growers,” says Dixon.

Environmental and economic benefits

USDA research has confirmed that LIDAR sensor technology can result in the following savings:

• Up to 73% reduction of spray consumption
• Up to 87% reduction in spray loss beyond tree canopies
• Up to 87% less airborne drift 
• Up to 93% reduction in spray loss on the ground
• As effective or better crop protection

For more information view our dedicated website:: https://www.basmartspray.co.nz

A bigger premises and increased workshop space was required due to the steady growth of Harpers within the region. The team is also expanding, so a larger space will allow BA Marlborough to better serve their loyal customers with faster and more efficient delivery and servicing of machinery.

Alongside the opening of the new premises, we also re-introduce Harpers as BA Marlborough. Harpers Machinery has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of BA Pumps & Sprayers since its inception in 2008. BA Directors, Mark, Penny, and Guy Rendle, saw the move as an opportunity to bring the organisations branding inline and are excited to announce the launch of BA Marlborough. The relocation and rebrand sees no change in ownership, with the investment into a new premises signalling our long-term commitment and growth aspirations within the region. BA Marlborough will feature the same team, expertise and experience, and will continue to play a key role in servicing one of New Zealand’s key growing regions.

We’d like to thank all of our customers in the Marlborough region for your continued support. We look forward to a big few days (and nights!) ahead moving into our new premises and invite you to pop in for a tour (and coffee!) from our opening date of Monday, August 3^rd. 

Level 2 means we’re fully operational and back open for business following the Government decision to move to Alert Level 2 from Thursday, May 14^th 2020. Key control measures as set by the Ministry of Health remain strictly in place during Level 2, including:

-maintaining physical distancing

-enabling good hygiene practices

-contact tracing (keeping track of all those who have entered our premises)

BA Pumps and Sprayers remain fully committed to following Government guidelines to ensure that our team, customers, and the wider community continue to be protected. We look forward to progressing at full capacity during Alert Level 2. 

BA Pumps and Sprayers has remained open throughout the level 4 lockdown to proudly support New Zealand’s Farmers, Growers, and Essential Producers.

The government decision to move to Alert Level 3 means that from Tuesday 28th we will be moving back in full production. Our New Zealand manufacturing facility will continue to operate in compliance with government best practice to ensure our team, our customers, and the wider community continue to be protected.

We are committed to providing all our customers with the highest possible levels of support. While some small delays are inevitable following the level 4 lockdown the team are focussed on supplying all orders as quickly as possible.

During Alert Level 3 we will continue to operate in line with government guidelines.

What this means for you:
• Our premises will be closed to customers.
• All deliveries and collections from our manufacturing facility will comply with social distancing and contract tracing best practice.
• Our manufacturing teams are back in full production.
• Our sales and customer service teams remain ready to deal with all enquiries by phone or email but we cannot currently undertake face to face visits.

Sales Team

Morrin Cornes Upper North Island 027 4715172
Louis Melchers Lower North Island 027 2904230
Adrian McAlister South Island 027 5334977

Customer Services / Parts

0800 833538

BA Pumps & Sprayers will continue to support our dealers and customers through remaining alert level restrictions. We wish everyone the best. Stay safe and well.

The BA Pumps & Sprayers team

We understand many of our valued customers will need to operate through the lock-down and we hope everyone is able to carry on through this crisis safely and successfully.

We are committed to providing all our customers with the highest possible levels of support over the coming weeks.

During Alert Level 4 we will be offering limited services in line with government guidelines.

What this means for you:

-Our premises will be closed to customers from 5pm on Wednesday afternoon (25 March) until the Level 4 alert is lifted.

-If you have an urgent parts requirement, please contact us by phone in the first instance on 0800 833 538.

-Our team can arrange freight of the part or collection from outside our premises between 8am and 5pm.

-We will be offering servicing and support for emergency breakdowns or parts requirements for essential businesses only.

-We will still be available from 8am – 5pm pm by calling 0800 833 538, with limited staff available, or by email at orders@bapumpsprayers.com

-If you have an urgent servicing requirement, please contact our service team on 0800 833 538.

We will do everything possible to continue to provide ongoing service and support to all of our customers who need to continue operating for the good of New Zealand.

The entire team wish you, your teams and families all the best during these testing times.

During this time we will be operating a reduced service to remain within the isolation requirements of Level 4.

Our sales and customer service representatives are available to assist with all customer enquiries and requests during the lockdown period on their normal contact numbers, please be patient if it takes a little longer than usual to get through.

We will continue to play our part in supporting the farmers, growers and food producers that are vital to New Zealand.

Any questions please contact your territory manager or call us on 0800 833 538.

We remain fully open for business, and committed to providing all our dealer partners with the high quality products and aftersales service they expect from us. Our Hautapu manufacturing facility remains in full production, and all steps have been take to ensure we can continue to meet demand through these uncertain times.

Along with the rapidly changing times come some altered business practices which we ask you to support and understand. These changing measures include:

Health & Wellbeing

For at least the next week, as we continue to monitor updates from the Ministry of Health, our sales team will be working from home offices whenever possible. Expect plenty of telephone contact, and Adrian, Morrin and Louis can all be reached on their normal numbers. If face to face meetings are essential, please understand if they avoid shaking hands and keep a safe distance. This is to protect the team, yourselves and our community.

In addition the following preventative measures remain in place.

• All domestic and international air travel for BA Pumps & Sprayers staff, except in exceptional circumstances remains cancelled until further notice.
• All staff members who have recently been abroad self-isolated without returning to work.
• We are replacing face to face meetings with telephone and video meetings where possible.
• We have limited visitors to our manufacturing facility to only essential visits, and screening all visitors to ensure no overseas travel has occurred within 14 days.
• Promoting the highest standards of hand hygiene on site.
• We have assisted the wider team to work according to the 2 metre rule advised by Ministry of Health, or to work from home.

Product supply

BA Pumps & Sprayers remains 100 percent open for business. We have been proactive in checking and securing our supply chain and remain confident in our ability to satisfy all outstanding orders, and stand ready to meet your future needs. Our New Zealand based manufacturing facilities remain at full operational capacity to ensure continuation of supply of New Zealand made products to our customers.

BA Pumps & Sprayers is proud to be a New Zealand Manufacturer, supporting New Zealand growers and the New Zealand economy.

-Cancelling all domestic and international air travel for BA Pumps & Sprayers staff, except in exceptional circumstances.

-Ensuring any staff member who has returned from overseas travel self-isolates for 14 days from the date that they arrive in New Zealand.

-Replacing face to face meetings and sales visits with the use of telephone or video wherever possible.

-Minimising visitors to our manufacturing facility to only essential visits, and screening all visitors to ensure no overseas travel has occurred within 14 days.

-Promoting the highest standards of hand hygiene on site.

-Assisting the team to work according to the 1 metre rule advised by Ministry of Health.

-Enacting policies to allow working from home.

Product supply
 
BA Pumps & Sprayers remains 100 percent open for business.  We have always been proud to manufacture all of our products in New Zealand, as such our supply chain has been relatively unaffected to this date. Measures have been enacted to preserve and strengthen our New Zealand based manufacturing facilities to ensure continuation of supply to our customers including

-Liaising regularly with our suppliers to keep abreast of any changes or potential challenges.

-Increasing stockholding of critical parts where required

-Manufacturing additional stock for supply in our Hautapu facility.

As things continue to develop, we will endeavour to keep you as informed as possible.

No matter what sprayer you have, you’ll be wasting money every time you spray if you're using the wrong or worn nozzles. Although spray nozzles are one of the most affordable components of a sprayer, they are very valuable because of their impact on sprayer performance.

Spray nozzles control the amount of liquid sprayed per unit area, manage application rate, along with the variability of spray. Nozzles also influence droplet size, affecting both target coverage and spray drift risk. The wrong nozzle, or not using your spray nozzle correctly, can result in over or under application and increase the risk of off target loss. Over application wastes a lot of chemical and is very costly, while under application can lead to poor performance, along with the need to re-spray.  

Nozzles come in a wide variety of types and sizes. The best nozzle for a given application will maximize efficiency, reduce spray drift risk, and allow compliance with chemical label requirements such as application rate and spray droplet size. 

Opinions and preferences on nozzles vary a lot, so in this blog we aim to provide you with general advice about which nozzle may suit your application. We also advise you to thoroughly read your chemical labels before making a decision. 

We are proud stockists of TeeJet nozzles, simply because we believe they are the best on the market. TeeJet nozzles are able to cater for a variety of application methods including spot spraying, broadacre spraying and much more. Their extensive range has been designed to suit different chemicals including herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. Here are some of the nozzles that may suit your chemical application:

Herbicide Spraying

Herbicide chemicals are used to kill unwanted plants, for example, weeds in a suburban garden, or grass in a field that needs to be seeded. Herbicides are available in nock downs, which kill everything you spray, or selectives, which will kill selected plants, for example, they will kill the weeds, but won’t harm the grass. As a general principal, a TeeJet Fan Nozzle, such as an AIXR nozzle would be a good choice as it offers good soil, contact or systemic coverage.

Fungicide Spraying

Fungicide chemicals are used to kill or prevent the growth of fungi, mould and mildew. Fungicides are usually used to control bacterial and fungal diseases of fruit, vegetable, nut and broadacre cereal crops. Two types of fungicides are usually available:

• Contact fungicide which kills fungi when sprayed on the plants surface.
• Systemic fungicide which is absorbed by the plant first and then shows its effect.

TeeJet has a wide range of nozzles suitable for either contact or systemic fungicides. Two of these options are the Conjet nozzles for orchard sprayers and TTJ60’s for Broadacre sprayers.  

Insecticide Spraying

Insecticides chemicals are used to kill insects, for example, removing pests that can notably reduce the volume of harvestable produce for a farmer. Insecticides are also available as contact or systemic chemicals. They can be applied via a boom, spot sprayer or other options. Some nozzle options we recommend for insecticide spraying include the TeeJet Conejet nozzles, TT nozzles or XR nozzles because they offer good penetration and coverage.

Choosing Nozzles to Minimise Loss

All nozzles, even drift reduction nozzles, when used in the wrong conditions, produce droplets that are small enough to drift away from the intended target. This not only wastes chemicals, could also be damaging sensitive areas or neighbouring crops. For example, the popular TeeJet XR flat fan nozzle has the potential for 50% of the droplets it sprays to potentially drift and be lost. To put that into perspective, imagine if you could halve your chemical bill by simply using the right nozzle?

With new nozzle designs, the potential for loss is reduced to less than 1%.  

In summary, spray nozzles are typically the least costly item on a sprayer unit, but they do play an important role in the outcome of any spraying job, no matter the application method or chemical type. Choosing the right nozzle is very important as it can save you a lot of money and time. The above suggestions are general advice. If you would like more personalised suggestions, we recommend you get in touch with our team or your local dealer directly.

But when you’re shopping for an agricultural sprayer, there are quite a few variables to consider. You’ll need to look at the amount of land and size of sprayer, what type of equipment you have and how your new sprayer will be attached to your equipment (where required). There are also a variety of sprayer types to consider, based on the task you're wanting to complete. The quality and condition of your current equipment should also be a consideration, as well as the weather, and, of course, what you are spraying. In this blog, we discuss the different variables to make choosing your next agricultural sprayer easy as.

First, let's talk about the basics.

Agricultural sprayers consist of a few simple but necessary parts, the essential parts include the tank, pump and nozzles. The pump draws the liquid mixture from the tank and discharges through spray nozzles, with pressure controls to achieve the desired application rate.

Agricultural sprayers range in size from portable units, such as hand-held compression sprayers, backpacks with spray guns, to self-propelled sprayers, deck-mount sprayers, trailed sprayers and 3-point linkage sprayers that are fixed to a tractor.
Here are some examples of what sprayer will suit a residential section, lifestyle block or large farm:

Residential Section:

The Matabi Berry 7, 5L Compression Sprayer is very popular for spraying small veggie patches and gardens.

This compression sprayer has a 5 litre working capacity, with a translucent tank to see the liquid level, fibreglass lance, viton chamber shut-off valve, ergonomic handle, comfortable shoulder strap, filter with chemical resistant viton seals and a rust-proof stainless steel spring.

Lifestyle Block and General Farming:

The 50L EZI-Spot ATV Quad Pro has been specifically designed for four wheeler ATV motorbikes. Its features include a baffled POLY tank, moulded tie down points, exclusive hinged lid with handy hose and gun storage, 10m spray hose and TeeJet Trigger Jet Hand Lance and SHURFLO's "Smoothflo" internal bypass pump for smoother operation and less pulsation.

Large Farm:

Our LS Series sprayers are available with 1000 or 1300 litre slim-line tanks, fitted standard with a 10 litre hand wash, 105 litre smart-flush tanks and Bertolini's exclusive "Rota-Mix 30" Chemical Induction Hopper, therefore all work on the sprayer is at ground level. Fitted with Bertolini liquid fertiliser ready POLY pump and three section incab electric control with pressure regulation. Choose from Bertolini's 12 or 15 metre semi-hydraulic fold "K" Series boom with wing lift or the "Super X-2" full hydraulic fold boom with wing tip lift.

It's important to remember that each kind of agricultural sprayer is intended for its own specific purpose and the above sprayers are suggestions. For advice tailored to your specific needs, our team are happy to help you find the right product, or you can visit one of our nationwide dealers.

At Bertolini, you’ll find your perfect sprayer, and if you can’t find the specific sprayer you need, our design and engineering team can custom build a solution for your specific requirements. Get in touch with us today to discuss your needs.

The Southern Field Days are on again in 2018 on from the 14-16 February. Located at Waimumu, 12 kms from Gore, the show features the latest in rural technology, equipment and ideas from around the world. If you are involved in farming, in any way, then this event should be in your diary, so keep the 14th-16th February 2018 free.

Central Districts Field Days is New Zealand's largest regional agricultural field days in NZ with over 540 exhibitors and over 38,000 visitors over three days.

Visit us at site S15 and view our comprehensive range of Bertolini sprayers, Pro-Blast high pressure cleaners, Pro-Spread Fertiliser spreaders and TeeJet GPS systems. Our friendly sales team are only too happy to discuss your requirements and recommend a solution for your application.

Visit us at site 147, “Bertolini Boulevard” and view our comprehensive range of Bertolini sprayers, Pro-Blast high pressure cleaners, Pro-Spread Fertiliser spreaders and TeeJet GPS systems. Our friendly sales team are only too happy to discuss your requirements and recommend a solution for your application.

Visit our site and meet our friendly sales team with over 50 years’ experience in the ag spraying industry. Let us discuss your spraying, pressure cleaning and fertiliser spreading requirements and recommend a solution for your application.