ASOOTY TOP TIPS - ANDREW KERR
Andrew Kerr has been recognised as the UK's top amenity sprayer operator, in the inaugural Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year Awards.
Course Manager at West Malling Golf Club in Kent, Andrew has shared his experiences and Top Tips for best practices to make the spraying process easier, more accurate and, ultimately, safe.
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Andrew's sprayer is regularly serviced to keep it in good condition. Although the machine is several years old, a good operator is still perfectly capable of achieving very high levels of accuracy, providing wearing parts are replaced when necessary. Annual NSTS certification checks it is all working well. |
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Auto-rate controllers that adjust application rate to forward speed have helped immensely with improving spray accuracy. Checking they are functioning correctly is an important element of the maintenance and calibration regime. Forward speed can be checked using a free app on a mobile phone with GPS - which is a useful tip if you haven't an accurate speedo on the sprayer. |
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West Malling's chemical store has really good clearly labelled racking that keeps bottles off the floor. Stock is rotated to ensure part used product is used up and any older product used first. Syngenta products are date stamped at bottling that helps with store management. |
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Personal protective equipment (PPE) is kept easily to hand. If there is more than one operator, it is convenient to have a dedicated set of equipment of the correct size. All staff should be aware of PPE requirement for handling any pesticides used. |
| Runner-up for the amenity turf boom sprayer operator of the year was James Wright of Leeds University.Turf Talkwill be visiting James at the Award winning sports ground complex to find his Top Tips and practical ideas for the next issue. |
| The ASOOTY Awards are sponsored by Syngenta and ICL (formerly Everris). Look out for next year's awards for your chance to win. |