Get Your Airblast Sprayer Calibrated

Feb 27, 2018

By Robert Pollock

Proper calibration is a must to make sure pesticide applications get to the target at the proper rate.

Calibrating air blast sprayers is challenging. You may be applying the correct amount of water per acre, but the distribution may be incorrect. The result may be insect and/or disease damage, reduced thinning, and reduced pack out which ultimately lowers income.

The Penn State Pesticide Education Program has calibration units which enable us to collect the output from each nozzle. With the collected information, we troubleshoot any problems like worn or plugged nozzles, cracked or wrong nozzles or whirl plates, pressure issues, etc. The end result is a calibrated sprayer ready to go for the growing season. If you need third-party documentation for record keeping purposes, we issue a calibration certificate.

How to sign up to have your air blast sprayer or boom sprayer calibrated.

Please note that the grower portion of the calibration cost is $50 for the first sprayer and $30 for each additional sprayer. On the webpage is a link to an online request form to be used to sign up to have your sprayer/s calibrated. Also included is a video which provides instructions to prepare your sprayer for calibration and a pre-calibration checklist.

Source: psu.edu

Video: Sweetener Effects on Gut Health - Dr. Kwangwook Kim

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Kwangwook Kim, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, discusses the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in nursery pig diets. He explains how sucralose and neotame influence feed intake, gut health, metabolism, and the frequency of diarrhea compared to antibiotics. The conversation highlights mechanisms beyond palatability, including hormone signaling and nutrient transport. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Receptors responsible for sweet taste are present not only in the mouth but also along the intestinal tract.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Kwangwook Kim / kwangwook-kim is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, specializing in swine nutrition and feed additives under disease challenge models. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from the University of California, Davis, where he focused on intestinal health and metabolic responses in pigs. His research evaluates alternatives to antibiotics, targeting gut health and performance in nursery pigs.