Bill Gordon Consulting, with assistance from Graham Betts (ASK GB) have collected information on the current level of skill and some details on equipment setups from 110 ground rig operators in cotton from areas Emerald through to Hillston about the current level of skill and knowledge.

The main objectives of the project team included:

To promote greater awareness of the importance of calibration, appropriate equipment setups and spray controller usage for improved application and to minimise the incidence of spray drift (through extension activities, and one-of ‘novel’ events such as the ‘calibration competition’).

To produce, and release through various formats, a series of publications (at least five) identifying key spray activities and issues during the season, working towards the development of a ‘spray planner’ for the cotton season. Outcomes included: SPRAYpak Calculator, articles on Shielded Spraying, Band Application and the‘Shields ain’t Shields” booklet, which were developed for distribution at a number of field and information days.

Additionally, the project team produced & distributed 1000 units of each of two stickers detailing suitable conditions for spraying (a stop-go chart based on SprayPak, and a Delta T chart) for use in spraying rigs.

The project team also produced 1000 units of each of two ‘user friendly tip cards’ The first outlines a pre-spray checklist, the second details tips for improving the use of automatic rate controller and appropriate settings. Further details are incuded in the Final Report.