A large greenhouse tomato grower in The Netherlands was recently looking for a solution for the automatic spraying of its plants. The company wanted a machine had to be suitable for an ebb and flood irrigation floor, narrow enough to be able to drive through the plant rows, and high enough to be able to treat the higher crops.

To address this need, the Dutch company Micothon developed a special extra-narrow sprayer with a unique transport guide that keeps the machine neatly in the guide track of the floor.

The machine, known as the Flamingo, is built to drive through a path just a little over a foot wide. The Flamingo is lightweight but extremely stable, with a strong frame and stainless steel sheet metal. The boom has a total width of 8 meters, wide enough to treat the entire bay in one pass. Special three-way nozzles are used for even delivery of spraying liquid over the entire width.

The machine operator places the machine in the centerline of the bay, starts the machine via a PLC-controlled touchscreen, and sends it into the bay. The machine travels to the end of the bay, starts spraying on the way back, and stops automatically at the transport cart.

The Flamingo is battery-powered, so there is no need to make an electrical connection. The battery capacity is sufficient for two days without charging. Connecting the hose from the fluid tank and positioning the machine in front of the guide rail in the center of the hood is literally done in seconds.

After pressing the start ‘button’, the machine automatically moves to the rearmost position in the bay, finds its starting point there, and comes spraying back to the transport cart. The hose is automatically wound up again. In order to easily move the machine from one bay to the other, the Flamingo has a stable transport trolley. Thanks to its swivel wheels, it can be maneuvered safely by one machine operator without risk of damage to people, crops, and machines.

According to Theo Straathof, Director of Micothon, the Flamingo is available to growers in the U.S.  Interested growers can learn more here.

“The Flamingo was developed for automatic spraying on concrete plant growing floors that have a slit in the middle for setting up and draining the water,” Straathof says. “The floors are usually completely filled with plants, leaving only a very narrow free path to walk on. These plants have to be sprayed against diseases and insects, either by biological or, if needed, by chemical products.”

Equal coverage is essential for good spray results, but is difficult to realize through manual spraying, Straathorf says.

“The Flamingo spray boom can spray one bay in one drive,” he says. “The boom has three-way nozzles so growers can choose the right nozzle for the right treatment. The sprayer will drive to the end autonomously, and will start spraying on the way back.”

Brian Sparks is senior editor of Greenhouse Grower and editor of Greenhouse Grower Technology. See all author stories here.

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