Pull-type sprayers are still one the most important tools on the farm for no-tillers as they push for higher yields on acres being covered multiple times to apply herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, nutrients, plant hormones, growth regulators and more.

Some have opted for self-propelled sprayers to boost the number of acres they can cover. But others find that pull-type sprayers give them more flexibility and they might even be able to get into a field in rougher shape without causing major soil damage.

Besides having to handle more acres, producers are also expecting more from their pull-type sprayers, including better accuracy and rate control, and the ability to handle more volume. New pull-types can be ordered up with bells and whistles that deliver these benefits, but farmers can do a lot to improve the sprayers they already have.

Flexibility Is Key

Paul Anderson, who no-tills near Coleharbor, N.D., uses two 96-foot Miller Spray-Air pull-type sprayers to cover 12,000 spray acres every year. His rotation includes no-till wheat followed by strip-till corn and then no-till peas, lentils, sunflowers or dry beans. When June rolls around, he needs to cover a lot of acres in a short time.

“We need to be spraying herbicides and applying fertilizer at the same time,” Anderson says. “By owning two pull-type sprayers we’re able to cover more acres and save time by not having to switch systems between fields to apply those products.

“And, if one of the tractors breaks down we can just hook the sprayer…