1998 - Volume #22, Issue #6, Page #7

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Liquid Nitrogen Applicator Mounts On Row Crop Cultivator

Liquid Nitrogen Applicator Mounts On Row Crop Cultivator FERTILIZER APPLICATION Fertilizer Application (58f) 22-6-7 "I use it whenever I cultivate. It lets me do two jobs at once and saves a pass through the field," says Robert Walton, Rosebush, Mich., about the 28 percent liquid nitrogen applicator that he mounted on an 8-row cultivator. He bought four sets of Redball monitors for $400 and mounted them on a homemade bracket that clamps onto the cultivator toolbar. He removed the sweeps on the shanks next to each row and replaced them with straight spikes positioned 6 in. on either side of the row. He duct taped 4-in. lengths of 3/ 4-in. dia. plastic water line to the back sides of the shanks and threaded the nitrogen hoses through them. The hoses are equipped with restrictor nozzles that apply the nitrogen in a narrow stream that penetrates the ground. Nitrogen is carried in saddle tanks on the tractor and is pumped to the cultivator by a conventional hydraulic spray pump. "It's simple to use and didn't cost much to set up," says Walton. "Instead of just applying nitrogen I'm also killing weeds. I spent $70 for all the nozzle bodies and restrictors. My biggest expense was for the Redball monitors. "I band herbicides so I already had the saddle tanks on the tractor. Because I band herbicides I don't have to cultivate real close to the row while applying the nitrogen, which reduces cultivator blight. I always thought that I could also use the same tanks to apply 28 percent nitrogen, but I was told that I'd need a squeeze pump in order to compensate for different tractor speeds. However, I've found that if I have to drive slow in small corn it isn't a problem because usually that corn needs extra nitrogen anyway. If I want to put only half as much nitrogen on I simply dilute the nitrogen with water so that I don't have to bother changing nozzles or restrictors. "I think the hydraulic spray pump works better than a squeeze pump because it shoots the nitrogen out under pressure. Last year I had 200 gallons left to apply when my hydraulic pump failed. I borrowed an applicator from my fertilizer company and found that I had to go slower and it didn't apply the material as evenly. "The Redball monitors provide a backup check in case the sprayer pump's pressure gauge fails. In fact, I can tell if the nozzles are working correctly just by looking at the level of the balls inside the monitor tubes." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Robert Walton, 5861 East Rosebush Road, Rose-bush, Mich. 48878 (ph 517 433-2925).