Cotton Picking Pictures

[Cerbera LM]

Played farmer Saturday by riding in a pickup and sprayer. Gallery here (Smugmug was down for 9+ hours this morning for "upgrades" and while back online it's currently very slow.)

Some "highlights"









Now on to the sprayer





GPS guidance screen, blue is where one as been. The white line is the guide to follow. Black box, on the right, is the instrument panel/control panel.

[TXhummer2]

Wonderful photos!

If my grandfather (Needville) had caught any of us leaving anything WHITE in the field, we had to walk back to that field from the farmhouse, pick it (up), bag it, walk back. Yet now, "wastage" is common, due to no hand pickin. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not pining for the "good ol' days", I really really don't miss them! Just noticing the biggest difference when the just picked field is empty of anyone or any machines.

[Michelle Allmon]

i like your cotton-pickin' pictures. i get excited when they clear the fields here, that means cotton will be blowing around. i like to play with it. :)

[bburton]

This is a good series about a subject most of us know little about. Thanks for posting. I'd like to see more.

[dlbdata]

Refreshing to see a new subject matter. Good pictures. Also a look at some
automation in the cab.......me being an engineer........

David

[Huck]

interesting

didnt know they used GPS in those big ol things

[Cerbera LM]

Thanks for the kind comments. Grew up on a Iowa corn/soybean farm so this is right up my alley.

Farmers are using GPS a lot now. Has been used for data collection for a while, harvesting corn/soybeans one will use GPS to map the yield. Load the data on the computer and get a yield map like this. Can also use it to meter fertilizer, based on a map loaded into the computer.

Autosteer has started to take off, line up with the white line, let go of the steering wheel, click a button on the hydrostatic lever (the orange/black lever in picture #6) and the GPS will steer the sprayer to keep it on the white line. Was shown the button but he wasn’t using it, know his big tractor has it. The GPS showing where one has sprayed makes it easy to spray in the dark, this is where GPS pays for itself on a sprayer.

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Info below is for David & engineers/geeks, feel free to skip it. Disclaimer is the first time I’ve been around cotton picking so I’m about as knowledge as someone who has spent the night at Motel 6.

The sprayer has a 90’ boom, 1000 gl tank & 150 gl rinse tank. Each wheel has a hydraulic motor attached at the hub. The rocker switch to the far right of the orange lever shifts a 4-speed transmission driving the hydraulic pump driving the wheel motors. Will go down the road at 32 mph. If the field is smooth likes to spray at 18-19 mph. If the rows are 1/2 mile long can do 80 acres/hr.



This is what makes it possible to go across the field at 18 mph. In picture #6 the field was rough enough that he only was going 13 mph. There’s an auto leveling option which the computer keeps the sprayer level as the water level changes. Didn’t think it was worth the money so he didn’t get.

Was spraying 4 oz of chemical with 10 gallons of water per acre to kill the cotton plant’s leaves. Green leaves gum of the cotton picker and stains the cotton. Have to spray it twice. The sprayer pump adjusts itself based on speed so to maintain the desired rate. Speed is measured with a radar pointed at the ground, so if you drive past one and are close enough it’ll set off your radar detector.



The business end of the sprayer. There are 3 spray zones. A master button then a button for each zone are located on the hydrostatic lever.



Squint at the bottom of the picture and one will see a scale. The width between the tires is adjustable between 120” & 152” with the click of a switch. Go down the road at the narrow setting and if the crop was planted on 36” centers then adjust it to 144” once one gets to the field.




Filling the sprayer with water. The stainless steel tank, on the right, is where the chemicals are loaded. The ladder, on the left, electrically raises and lowers so it’s out of the way when in motion.

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Cotton stuff, didn’t get to ride in a picker so don’t have much Cliff Claven info on them. Takes about 13-14 loads from the picker to make a module (see picture #4). The module builder packs the cotton after each boll buggy delivery.

[savitale]

Very interesting subject, thanks for sharing the photos!