UFO

No it's not a UFO in fact it doesn't even fly but it does look a bit weird and we get plenty of strange looks when we are out operating it.  It is in fact called an Enviromist Spraydome Turf Sprayer.  It uses controlled droplet application (CDA) as its method of delivering the spray solution.  CDA is a super fine mist spray that has been used in agriculture, nursery and viticulture for some time and has now made its way to turf. 

The CDA unit in action

There are many benefits of CDA application and it is a machine that I think every Club should have.  The way we have the unit configured means that it applies 22 litres of water per hectare as it applies the various products we use.  That is compared to our conventional sprayers that apply anything from 200 to 800 litres per hectare and in our case normally 317 litres per hectare.  When you consider that we have 36 hectares of fairways at Cool Tweed it equates to a huge water saving.  This week some growth regulator was applied to the fairways and 30 hectares of fairways were treated meaning that 660 litres of water was used in the operation as against 9,510 if our normal spray carts were used.  You then figure in that the growth regulator is sprayed monthly from September through April equating to a required water volume of 5,280 used with the CDA method against 76,080 for the normal spray carts.   

The speed at which the machine can apply product is also a huge advantage as we can usually get 7 hectares sprayed in front of play and off the courses by 9.30am versus 4 hectares in the same time with our other sprayers.  The unit is also shrouded and very low to the ground which means that wind has almost no effect on the spray droplet distribution which is a great advantage on such a windy site as Cool Tweed.  All in all a very good piece of machinery that is being used for more and more applications on other areas of the golf courses.