Direct injection adds application efficiency, convenience
The process of direct injection means the primary tank contains only water, and since mixing happens in-line, there is no chemical actually entering the main tank. The result is less chemical waste, faster, more efficient mixing in the field and quicker clean-out after you’ve gotten the job done.
The ability to move from field to field and spray different chemicals with minimal time and effort between applications used to be a pipe dream for busy sprayer operators. Not anymore. For every Apache Sprayer, from the 2017 model year on, an optional direct chemical injection provides operators the ability to mix concentrated chemical in-line via an on-board 50-gallon tank.
“The direct injection system is more accurate because of the way it’s mixing in-line with a mixing chamber,” said Apache Sprayers Application Specialist Chris Smith. “It’s all about the ease of switching from one chemical to another. With a simple boom clean-out, you can go from one field to the next using different chemicals without having cross-contamination worries.”
The capability to inject in-line directly without chemical entering the primary tank has benefits beyond just convenience for the operator. With high chemical costs and issues like herbicide resistance continuing to plague chemical applicators and farmers, direct injection helps keep chemical where it needs to be going and minimizes the potential for weed resistance, on top of cross-contamination.
“Demand has picked up because of potential chemical cross-contamination for different chemicals, especially as weeds are becoming more resistant to one particular chemical or another,” Smith said.
Ensuring a direct injection system works properly is “extremely easy,” he added. In the on-board product controller, products and rates are selected and, based on ground speed, the chemical is injected into the lines and booms directly without coming into contact with the primary tank.
“All you do is enter in what you’re doing, how much you’re putting on and how fast you’re moving into the controller and it injects chemical as needed,” Smith said. “It takes a lot of the guesswork out of the process.”
Do you want to see the Apache Sprayers direct injection system at work on your farm? Sign up for a demo today.
