One machine for cherry tree and asparagus in greenhouse? With Martignani you can.

When we spoke with our Treviso client and friend, Paolo Zanusso, we were also surprised. Here is his story …

Paolo Zanusso, owner of the farm that bears his name, bought a Martignani Model Whirlwind B120 3/P mounted sprayer in 2016 through the Treviso Consortium. Our distributors in the area.

Zanusso was already familiar with our technology because he had used it a few years when he worked for another company. His goal was to treat his 3 hectares of asparagus (1 hectare in the greenhouse and 2 in the open field).

He himself told us that he bought the Martignani sprayer because he had special needs. He had to protect his crops from serious diseases that had occurred in previous years. Row spacing of greenhouse asparagus varies from 2.10 mt for green asparagus and 2.50 mt for white asparagus, while open-field asparagus has a row spacing of 2.80 mt.

In the greenhouse, with the conventional sprayer he previously used, he could not treat effectively. The machine was wide and not only could it not penetrate well, given the density of its cultivation, but with the fan too close it “banded treatment,” and this limitation had caused me severe disease attacks.

Pathologies in the case of asparagus start from the inside, and so,“by the time I noticed it, it was already late,” Zanusso says. “Now I treat all the vegetation. The sprayer is narrower and makes more air, I can get evenly everywhere and I had no phytosanitary problems.”.

Due to electrostatic charge, it is possible to greatly reduce the respect and safety distance

Treatment in asparagus

Our customer treats at 200 liters/hectare, “but sometimes at 150 liters/hectare,” and at a constant speed of 5 km/h.

According to Zanusso explains, compared to the conventional sprayer “I have reduced the number of treatments in a 40 percent on asparagus, and I don’t have any kind of problem following the Region’s guidelines. In addition, I get a 50 percent time saving because I have to refill much less times and I finish treating sooner.”

On the other hand, our client points out that “thanks to electrostatic charge, it is possible to greatly reduce the respect and safety distance.” Zanusso explains that in their area “there is the problem of the distance to be respected to roads, houses, water channels, … and we, thanks to the electrostatic charge that makes the product adhere perfectly to the plant, we have solved this problem.”

Martignani: Specialized machine, but also very versatile

The most surprising thing about chatting with Zanusso is that his farm has had a cherry tree planting for only a few years and manages to treat it, without any problems, with the same Martignani sprayer. “I know that these are two very different crops, with different planting beds, but I have studied ways to be able to use the same machine.”

The cherry tree has a row spacing of 5.5 meters and a height of more than 3 meters. “To treat evenly, I just have to adjust the outlets and I get everywhere. Even, I checked that the product even reaches the support poles that are 5 meters high!!!”

The extra money spent on the purchase of this machine is absolutely worth it

Zanusso tells us that for this treatment, he lowers the speed a bit. “I am going at 3 km/hr and with a volume of 300 liters/hectare. I prefer to wet a little more and go slow otherwise, having such a wide row spacing would risk not treating the entire leaf area properly and not having penetration within the vegetation.”

Zanusso farm owner Paolo Zanusso showed his satisfaction with the purchase of the Martignani sprayer and assures that “the extra money spent to purchase this machine is absolutelyworth it.” Although he admits that he was already familiar with Martignani technology. “I understand that the costs of these sprayers can be a little scary at first, but the savings and the security of being able to prevent crop diseases and get a healthy crop always pay off.”

We, thank Mr. Zanusso for his testimony and helpfulness.