Why treat the entire field for migrating insects when all you need to do is protect your borders?
Until now, fluid injection (chemigation) in irrigation has been “static” at the pivot point or well head. BoundaryRider® from Agri-Inject takes fluid injection to the edge of your fields to significantly improve accuracy, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.
Used for: Applying insecticides along the outer edge
of your fields to prevent inbound pest infestations.
Tank Capacity: 10 gallons
- Easily mounts on the outer towers of center pivot irrigation systems
- Applies pesticides along edge of field and vulnerable pivot corners
- Treats only those acres that need it
- Designed to pump concentrated chemical without dilution or mixing
- Extremely accurate metering pump
- Available in single phase only, which ties into the 110VAC circuit on the center pivot.
- The BoundaryRider® can be used for additional applications that protect the perimeter of your high value crop. Ask your dealer for details.
- Cost savings Treating only the acres that need treatment reduces number of gallons of pesticide and chemical required.
- Complete and consistent application Precision accuracy of treatment with no crop damage, overlaps or misses.
- Greater control You have complete control over the timing, application rate and chemical choice so you can effectively respond to threats quickly and easily.
- Rugged construction Made in the USA with durable, chemical resistant, high-impact plastic components. Weather and UV resistant. Can stand up to the bumpy, wet and messy environment under a pivot system.
- Common-sense design Portable and easy to handle and calibrate. Fully drainable tank ensures maximum use of chemical/product. Flushing assembly allows easy and complete cleaning with water.
Deliver water-enhancement products with greater efficiency and effectiveness.
Acres on the edge of a field, especially those under an end gun, typically are subject to inconsistent irrigation. Additionally, many irrigation schedules are set up to keep the driest point in the field wet—and that means greater inefficiency and cost.
Water amendments such as polymers, wetting agents and soil conditioners are intended to “make the water work better”—and optimize chemical application, water utilization and yield potential on these boundary acres.
BoundaryRider® is the perfect strategy for precisely and accurately delivering water-enhancement products on these few “under-served” acres. You can help improve crop health and vitality while improving the efficiency of your irrigation schedule.
System attaches to the base beam of an exterior pivot tower (usually the next-to-last) with a double clamp assembly. Quill on patented Mister Mist’r® injection valve* inserts into “weld-o-let” on pivot pipe. System wires into the tower box, powered by 110 VAC control circuit of the irrigation system. Will safely and automatically shut down if pivot loses power or shuts off. Product to be applied goes into fully drainable tank (usually 10 gallon tank). Product is applied “neat” with no dilution or pre-mixing required.
Calibration assembly provides precise and accurate injection of product into the overhead water pipeline. Large 800:1 turndown ratio provides accuracy across a wide range. System can handle more viscous materials thanks to design of the wetted process parts and the ability of the pump to control the speed of the injection stroke.
Explosive.
That’s one way to describe the speed at which mite infestations in crops can develop under the right conditions. Those conditions are hot, dry weather—a common occurrence on the High Plains. A spider mite female, for example, can produce 300 offspring during her 30-day lifetime, enabling a mite population to grow from a few individuals to millions rapidly.
The two primary mite pests in the High Plains are the Banks grass mite and the two-spotted spider mite. Heavy infestation in beans can cause leaf loss and even the death of the plant, while mites can cause lighter test weights in corn. Penn State University Extension entomologists note that most mite populations first develop on grasses and other plants found along the margins of fields. The preproductive female mites then use a silken thread as a kite to migrate into the field 1 .
Because mite populations can build so quickly, regular scouting of field borders when conditions favor mite development is the best way to catch outbreaks before mites can move further into the field.
Dealing with mites
When you find mites at high levels, what are your control options? A preventive insecticide treatment may be warranted under certain conditions. Colorado State University Extension entomologists recommend asking these questions before applying a preventive treatment.
- Is the crop near tasseling?
- Are a majority of the plants infested with at least small colonies of mites?
- Are the daily high temperatures expected to be above 95 degrees?
- Is part of the field suffering from drought stress?
- Are predator populations (such as predator mites, minute pirate bugs and Stethorus)low?
- Does the field have a history of mite problems? Are two-spotted mites expected to be an issue in the field?
If at least three of these questions receive a “yes” answer, it is likely that one of these treatments will provide an economic benefit. Even if you can answer yes to three questions, one of the drawbacks to taking a traditional preventive approach is the cost of treating an entire field without the certainty of knowing whether a full-blown outbreak will occur. Those producers with a center-pivot irrigation system, however, have an alternative.
“We have a chemical injection unit, the Boundary Rider, designed specifically to control migrating insects,” says Erik Tribelhorn, CEO of Agri-Inject. “Because mites migrate into a field from the field boundaries, this unit can create a zone of protection.”
According to Tribelhorn, the Boundary Rider mounts on the base beam of a pivot tower—typically the second to the last—and is powered by the tower box. It then injects insecticide up into the pivot, providing a band of insecticide the width of two pivot sections around the edge of the field—the distance that a drifting mite can travel before it must land in the corn.
“When the appropriate miticide is used, you not only eliminate mites in that boundary area, but you create a residual effect that lasts further into the season,” Tribelhorn explains. “The economics are also much more favorable.”
Assuming an effective miticide, with some residual action, costs roughly $30/acre, Tribelhorn calculates that treating 30 boundary acres would cost $900—less than $8/acre to protect the whole field. Treating the entire 125-acre field, on the other hand, would cost $3,750. “Everyone wants to protect their crops as economically as possible,” Tribelhorn concludes. “If mites are a concern, the Boundary Rider provides a way to accomplish that goal.”
