by Andrea van Wyk

A mean and merciless gang of sixty insects and two mite species threaten macadamia trees, and the macadamia farmer who wishes to make a profit from producing these popular nuts should employ the most efficient measures to protect himself against this threat.

Chemical companies have developed effective substances to combat these
pests, but even the best ammunition is to no avail if you cannot hit the target. Therefore, success depends largely on the sprayer used to apply these chemicals.

That is why, after thorough research, Danroc (Pty) Ltd, a farming business with more than 1 000 ha of macadamia trees, acquired five Andreoli Eco
Vac sprayers from Jupidex, and they haven’t looked back yet. These sprayers have enabled them to spray their macadamia orchards quicker and more efficient than ever before.

Danroc is one of the leading macadamia farms in the Lowveld with plantations at White River, Kiepersol, and Barberton. For the past eight years, they have only been planting macadamias, and follow the most professional approach possible. Danroc currently owns five Andreoli Eco Vac 997 sprayers and plans to buy more of them, as well as the self-propelled version of the sprayer. One of the machines has a 3 000-litre tank and the other four have 2 000-litre tanks.

“In Kiepersol we have replaced all our previous sprayers with Andreoli,”
says Paul Clark, Operations Executive of Danroc. “The terrain there is very steep, and we completed spraying in the shortest time ever, well within the
window allowed by weather conditions,” said Paul.

The farm has gone from five sprayers and cab tractors to four sprayers and
tractors and sprayed two days quicker than before. He said the Andreoli sprayers help with the farm’s overall sustainability.

“Previously we were using water volume to get coverage because we didn’t have the fan to drive the water. We were using water pressure and water cannons to try and get to the tops of the trees, which grow up to eight metres high. Now all you need to do is to atomise the water and let that 997 mm fan take it to where you want it. We may even begin tapping down on the fan speed because then we shall use less diesel, which could even be a larger efficiency driver.”

Paul states that the Andreoli is very user-friendly and reliable. “We haven’t
had to lift or take a pump out yet. It’s very simple and the fan is at a usable
height, where other sprayers have raised fans to get an adequate volume
of wind. The Andreoli is safe to operate and offers easy access to change nozzles. I’m very happy with the usability of the machine.”

Besides usability, the sprayers are durable and affordable to maintain.
The Andreoli Sprayer consists of a hot-dipped HS-steel chassis, 6 diaphragm
50 bar IDS2200 Comet pump, with a supermix agitator and acidtreated
fibreglass tank, as well as the Andreoli design 997 mm pitch adjustable
fan with 12 blades and stainless lower. The sprayer has front and rear
spray rings, one for each air outlet, split into two sections on the left- and
right-hand sides. Mounted on the spray rings are 32 nozzles in total, 6 adjustable trumpets, 8 adjustable cone nozzles, 18 double-sided nozzles for easy volume adjustments. The sprayer also has a heavy-duty 2-speed gearbox with synchronized gear selection.

Jupidex now also supplies farmers with the Waatic smart spray system, a
smart spray solution that can be built into the Andreoli to give the user more control over the sprayer.

Christopher Laubscher, a Representative of Jupidex, tells more: “It has a flow meter and pressure sensor, which measures actual flow to adjust the pressure according to your driving speed. The system has features that allow you to map fields, create application rates and send them to each sprayer as a work order to ensure each orchard block receives the application rates it needs. It is a great management and information tool. You can recall live replays of each application and view the sprayers’ movement and actual spraying, seeing each row that was sprayed as well as rows that were missed.”

The information logged on the Waatic system is saved onto a cloud so that
the farmer can go onto the website and view everything that has happened.

“Information is what you need to set up procedures to become more efficient.”

Andreoli’s range is not limited to trailed sprayers but boasts with the
Atom range of 2 000 and 4 000 ℓ self-propelled sprayers fully integrated with four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering, and hydrostatic drive. Together with that, they are fully fitted with GPS mapping, variable rate controllers, flow rate and pressure monitoring.

Mascor is the Jupidex dealership and also a proud member of the Plennegy
Group which provides excellent service to Danroc with capable and well skilled support staff on the Anreoli sprayers.

Both Jupidex and Mascor support the agricultural roots and purpose of the Plennegy Group, with its core business being that of growing food and servicing those that grow food, in order to feed and nourish the continent and beyond.