Top rated horticultural spraying equipment

Sprayers are a specialist gardening tool that works by dispensing liquid through a hand-held nozzle or lance to evenly distribute sprayable or liquid fertilisers, herbicides, fungicides or weed killers. 

Sprayers are used in both horticulture and agriculture to evenly distribute products over plants. Some sprayers are pump operated, others are battery powered, some hare handheld and some can be worn like a backpack, if you're looking to invest in one a sprayer for your garden or plot but don't know where to start, we've spoken to the experts at Cooper Pegler to get an answer those questions.

Berthoud and Cooper Pegler are the best sprayers on the market of course! The main reason for this is the design and build quality being to a high standard, spares and accessories being available, and both brands have been big names in the spraying market for over one hundred years. Neither brand may not be the cheapest on the market but they are sure to go the distance.

This all depends on the nozzle you have selected to use and what its output is. Your nozzle will determine our many litres your sprayer will spray per minute, you will also need to know your walking speed.

You really need to know what chemicals you intend to use in it as some chemicals will damage the seals and other areas of the sprayer.

A manual sprayer requires you to pump a handle up and down continuously until you have finished the area or emptied the tank. A battery-operated sprayer once switched on will spray whenever you squeeze the trigger, but the battery will go flat and require charging.

If you have finished the area you were spraying, you would then need ‘triple rinse’ the sprayer, especially if it was a herbicide you used. You would do this buying adding water to the tank, shaking and then spraying the target area again, three times over. The aim here is to make sure the sprayer has only water left in so that there is no contamination when you come to use it next.

The different types of sprayers are diaphragm, piston pump and electric.

The factors to consider when buying a sprayer would be to know the frequency of use and how many litres you would be comfortable carrying. Other factors would be the level of comfort you require, availability of spare parts and accessories should you need to repair or modify your sprayer.

Maintenance of your sprayer should be carried out at least once per year, at the end of the spraying season would be best. An inspection of the sprayer should be carried out before each use also because a leak could be very harmful depending on the chemical you are going to use.