LIBRARY 
 PLANT DOARD 
 
 January 1950 ET-279 
 
 United States Department of Agriculture 
 
 Agricultural Research Administration 
 
 Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine 
 
 A DEVICE FOR SPRAYING BEAN SEED 
 IN THE ROW WHILE PLANTING 
 
 By John C. Elmore 1/ 
 Division of Truck Crop and Garden Insect Investigations 
 
 In connection with investigations on the control of the seed-corn 
 maggot (Hylemya cilicrura Rond.) in southern California, an attachment 
 to a bean planter has been developed for spraying lima bean seed and 
 the adjacent soil with an insecticide as a part of the seed-planting 
 operation. With this attachment the spray is applied directly behind the 
 boot of the planter while it is in motion. The spray covers the seed 
 immediately after it falls, before it is covered with soil. The attach- 
 ment was first tried with a hand planter during the summer of 1948 and 
 with a commercial planter in 1949. This paper describes the construc- 
 tion and operation of the attachment. 
 
 Construction 
 
 The planter attachment (fig. 1) is constructed so that it slides over 
 the heel of the boot of a lima bean planter (A). A commercial nozzle (B) 
 is screwed onto a 3-inch section of l/4-inch iron pipe that has been bent. 
 This pipe is welded to a 3-inch section of 1 l/2-inch iron pipe split 
 lengthwise. A metal flange, 2 by 3 inches, is welded to each side of the 
 split section of pipe. This section of pipe (C) holds the nozzle rigid, and 
 the adjustable clamp (C) holds the attachment in place and allows it to 
 be raised or lowered as desired. The flanges act as baffles and prevent 
 the soil from falling back into place until after the nozzle has passed (D). 
 A rubber hose {C) leads away from the planter attachment to the sprayer. 
 
 Figure 1, D, shows the attachment in place and ready for use. The 
 nozzle shown delivers 0.3 gallon of spray per minute at a 65-degree 
 angle in a flat pattern, at a pressure of 40 pounds per square inch. It 
 is provided with interchangeable filters of 50- or 100-mesh screen. 
 
 1/ This work was done at Alhambra, Calif., under the direction of 
 Roy E. Campbell and with the assistance of bean farmers in Los Angeles 
 and Orange Counties. 
 
and a series of tips with orifices that deliver from 0.1 to 0.8 gallon per 
 minute at 40 pounds' pressure and at spray angles ranging from 15 to 
 80 degrees. Of the several nozzle tips that have been tested, the one 
 delivering 0.3 gallon per minute is the most satisfactory. 
 
 Operation 
 
 For experimental use four of the planter boots of an eight- row lima 
 bean planter were fitted with these attachments. Each nozzle was adjusted 
 so that the tip was about 2 1/2 inches higher than the tip of the boot point 
 and the spray struck about 1 inch to the rear of where the seed fell. 
 With four nozzles, two delivering 0.15 and two delivering 0.3 gallon per 
 minute, 8 and 16 gallons per acre were applied in 30-inch rows by 
 properly adjusting the planter speed and spray pressure. 
 
 Insecticides in the form of wettable powders were used, at con- 
 centrations of 1 to 6 pounds of the powder per 100 gallons of water. At 
 these concentrations it was possible to apply comparatively small 
 quantities of insecticides ranging from a fraction of 1 ounce up to 
 7 1/2 ounces per acre in 30-inch rows. Of the many insecticides tested 
 chlordane and aldrin were the most promising against the seed-corn 
 maggot. 
 
 With this method of spraying lima bean seed at the time it is planted, 
 the concentration of insecticide in contact with the seed is much lower 
 and subject to more accurate control than with methods of coating the 
 seed before planting. Furthermore, smaller quantities of insecticide 
 than are required for broadcast soil treatment are applied to a narrow 
 strip of soil. 
 
 Any type of spray pump that will operate at low pressure and capacity 
 is suitable for this type of application. The writer used a small rotary 
 pump equipped with an easily adjustable pressure-relief valve and a 
 10-gallon can containing the material to be tested. 
 
m 
 
 # 
 
 Boot 
 
 Attachment 
 
 A (x 7/16) 
 
 Hose—'' 
 
 Pipe 
 (split) 
 
 Clomp 
 
 if 
 
 nanges 
 
 C (X 7/16) 
 
 B (X 5/6) 
 
 D (X 5/9) 
 
 Figure 1. --Different views of bean-planter boot attachment for applying liquid 
 insecticides. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA