May 14, 2024Smart Apply, ProgressiveAg sign agreement
Smart Apply announced it has signed an agreement with Progressive Ag, Inc., which allows the Modesto, California-based equipment manufacturer to factory install Smart Apply Intelligent Spray Control Systems into its LectroBlast Electrostatic Sprayers for orchards, vineyards and hop yards. This is Smart Apply’s first formal agreement with an original equipment manufacturer of air blast sprayers.
The agreement enables high-value crop growers to purchase LectroBlast sprayers already equipped with Smart Apply systems from authorized Smart Apply dealers. LectroBlast sprayers are used by orchards, vineyards, groves and nurseries across California, the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, and Mexico.
“This is an incredible opportunity for growers to get the best of both worlds, Smart Apply’s precision spray and data system coupled with LectroBlast sprayers’ electrostatic spray technology and ease of maintenance in one, field-ready package,” said Jerry Johnson, CEO for Smart Apply.
ProgressiveAg co-owner and sales manager Mark Ryckman admits he was originally skeptical of the Smart Apply System’s ability to reduce chemical use without sacrificing coverage. However, when Pape Ag & Turf, a mutual dealer for both companies’ products, decided to install a Smart Apply System onto a 400-gallon LectroBlast sprayer for apples, Ryckman joined Pape for a head-to-head field trial.
“We did a black light coverage test in a fairly dense apple orchard in Yakima, Washington. Without the Smart Apply System, our sprayer used 100 gallons per acre over four acres at three miles per hour. With the Smart Apply System, we cut chemical use in half at the same speed, covering eight acres. The coverage on the trees was exactly the same; we couldn’t tell one bit of difference,” said Mark Ryckman, co-owner and sales manager for ProgressiveAg. “It blew me away. ProgressiveAg prides itself on being the cutting edge of sprayer technology, so I wanted Smart Apply Systems on our sprayers. Many of our customers are look for more technology and less chemical usage.”
For more information, visit smartapply.com.
