"Bark-Scraping Sprayer" Kills Brush For Good

"Bark-Scraping Sprayer" Kills Brush For Good SPRAYING New Sprayers 23-1-3 "For years we used rotary cutters to control brush on cattle pastures but it would just grow back thicker each time we cut it," says Tom Williams, Aurora, Mo., who came up with a totally new way to clear away unwanted brush and small trees up to 8 ft. tall. Rather than cut off brush at ground level, the new "Roll-On Applicator" scrapes bark off the trunks, and then coats the "wounds" with an herbicide that kills them. The 10-ft. wide machine consists of a spring-loaded bark scraper up front followed by an 18-in. dia. drum that wipes on herbicide. "Cutting brush is just a temporary solution because it all grows back. I wanted to find a way to permanently kill it. But it's hard to kill brush with herbicides just by spraying it on. This machine opens up the fleshy part of the wood where herbicides can be very effective," says Williams. A tractor-powered pto pump and a series of low pressure nozzles spray herbicide onto two strips of absorbent material which then wipes the chemical onto the absorbent surface of the roller. The roller is hydraulically adjustable up to 12 in. above ground. Electric controls in the cab allow the operator to apply herbicide to the left or right hand side of the roller, or to the full width. Williams notes that if you're traveling on a side slope, you can just apply herbicide to the uphill end of the roller to avoid runoff on the bottom end. The roller drum is driven at ground speed by chains and sprockets. "We've used the Roller Applicator on our 900-acre ranch with very good results and plan to put the machine on the market next year. We're working on devices which control the flow of herbicide to the roller," says Williams. He uses the herbicide Remedy mixed with either water or diesel fuel. "On thick sumac 4 to 5 ft. tall, I have to go over it again a second time a year later to get nearly a 100 percent kill because the wheels of the tractor knock some of it down flat and because some seed germinates the next year. On hickory, oak and persimmon, I spot spray the leaves after going over them with the applicator. The cab is equipped with a pair of 18-in. long spray guns - one on each side of the operator. I modified the orifices on the guns so I can precisely control the spray pattern. "Rolling on the herbicide prevents dam-age to the grass around the brush. Once the trees and brush die, we can go in and mow it down." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Tom Williams Machine Inc., HCR 1, Box 1A, Aurora, Mo. 65605 (ph 417 678-3723; fax 417 678-6000).

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