In 2008 Marlborough Tractor Services were proud to be involved in the launch of the Croplands Shielded Sprayer, a product developed by Inventec a joint venture company created by George Eady of Aspiration Holdings and Trinders Engineering both firms based in Nelson. The Shielded Sprayer is a revolutionary new sprayer product which will help with the containment of sprays, and with specific spray problems such as disbudding.

There is a new shielded sprayer on the market, and it does exactly what its name promises.  It applies any type of spray while containing drift.  Specifically the Croplands Shielded Sprayer addresses the problems of grape vine disbudding and sucker control, as well as the control of tough weeds in vineyards and orchards.The Croplands Shielded Sprayer is unique in that it uses a revolutionary Ground Tracking System which keeps the shielded sprayer brushes at a constant height to the ground contours.  Unlike other products on the market the shielded sprayer has not only been designed specifically for the New Zealand market but also manufactured, trialed and proven right here in New Zealand for New Zealand conditions. 

The Croplands Shielded Sprayer has been designed and developed by Nelson based company Inventec; a joint venture company between Trinders Engineering and George Eady of Aspiration Holdings.  George Eady, a well known figure in the horticulture and viticulture industries, designed and developed the highly successful Quantum Mist Spray Heads which are now marketed by Croplands throughout New Zealand and Australia.  The Croplands Shielded Sprayer, so called because it is also being marketed by Croplands, has the support of authorized service agent Marlborough Tractor Services a local firm with extensive expertise in the sprayer industry.

When Inventec started conceptualising the shielded sprayer a key design requirement was the containment of spray drift.  Drift damage, wiping or flicking of sprays can be brutal to plants and crops if not controlled, resulting in “spotting” of the leaf, stem and fruit.  Therefore a shielded sprayer is critical.  The design and material chosen for the Croplands Shielded Sprayer had to be able to get close enough to vines or fruit trees without causing damage to trunks or canopies, while being robust enough to contain the dangerous spray drift.  Inventec solved the problem by choosing a particular type of material for the brushes and using a design with brushes joined at an angle easily allowing for a trunk to pass through.  The brushes are made of a polypropylene material which provides a sufficiently robust solution to containing spray without damaging vine plant trunks.  This means that spray is contained within the brushes.  Inventec also specified the type of spray nozzles (low drift induction air nozzles) and spray pressure to be used. 

Suited to the viticulture industry the shielded sprayer provides is fully adjustable allowing for a wide variance in row widths, from 1.6m to 3.2m wide.  This offers a wide margin of flexibility and adjustments can be made easily either manually or hydraulically.  The Shielded Sprayer comes as either a single row unit or a twin row unit – which means that up to two rows can be treated for suckers (disbudding) at a time.  The machine can also be readily adapted to become a three row weed sprayer for treatment of tough weeds at ground level.  This 3-row functionality has been achieved through the expertise of the Marlborough Tractor Services custom design engineering team by adding an adapter to each side of the sprayer.  This adds a big advantage to vineyard managers and maximises the versatility of this machine.  It means that economies of scale can be achieved by using this machine for both disbudding and weed spraying.  This offers local growers an effective new bud and sucker control option that reduces the costs associated with disbudding and provides longer lasting control.  The time taken to disbud, labour, OH&S costs are reduced as are disease and sucker regrowth.  Likewise, using the adaptation the sprayer can be used for general weed spraying in the vineyard or orchard.  A range of herbicide as well as non-chemical sprays can be used with the shielded sprayer.Launched earlier this year, the Croplands Shielded Sprayer is now ready for distribution throughout New Zealand and Australia.  Marlborough vineyard owners and managers are lucky to have access to this expertise locally and a number of invited guests were recently given a sneak preview of the machine.  The response to the machine was hugely enthusiastic.  Marlborough Tractor Services has been working with George Eady on a number of influential projects within the viticulture industry, and are proud to be the authorized seller and service agent for the Croplands Shielded Sprayer.

Marlborough Tractor Services are the authorised service agents for Croplands Spray products including the Shielded Sprayer. We also provide a custom design and engineering service, to adapt your sprayer to specific spray requirements.