In the orchard industry it’s all about reach – after all, if left alone, some trees can get pretty tall.

Take macadamias. Forget about them for five minutes (or 30-odd years) and they can go 20m.

So imagine the task potentially facing Boombera Park Macadamias, in the northern rivers of NSW, which now has 253,000 trees in the ground.

That’s a quarter of a million trees which need to be treated with fungicides, insecticides and nutrition – and to be the most effective the tree needs it from top to toe.

Which is why when it comes to spraying systems, Boombera turned to Benz Baek at GreenTech and its 6000L capacity unit is already in action at the property, where the trees will be kept to a more manageable 7.5m to 8m at peak production.

Boombera Park’s operations manager Liz Childs, who brings a wealth of management experience in largescale orchards in the citrus industry as well as other horticultural activities, to her current role, turned to GreenTech after using it successfully in a major Queensland citrus enterprise.

“I don’t know of any other machine which is able to spray trees so tall.”

Which explains why her forward planning prompted her to go for the big 6000L option after the system she had in Queensland worked so well for her controlling pest and diseases.

“The GreenTech machine is highly regarded in the orchard industry and it’s not just my opinion, many others find the machine to be the best on the market,” Ms Childs says.

“We must spray the trees to achieve the best quality fruit in order to sell them at the best prices, so we need the best technology to achieve those results,” she added.

“If we cannot spray properly, we may as well not do it at all, as we will lose tractor time, diesel fuel, chemicals and labour and, in the final result, lose money.”

Ms Childs says she is a big ‘fan’ of GreenTech’s pivotal technology, its low-power consumption, industrial-grade electrically-driven fan spray head.

She says the technology is renowned for its simplicity, and the reliable robust design of the GreenTech sprayers meets the highest standards for Australian conditions. 

“It is also handy the GreenTech technology has established itself by providing so many choices in tank capacities, starting with 2000L up to the 6000L we have acquired and through to 8000L,” Ms Childs added.

“And because we’re talking an all-electric unit, there is no risk of oil leaks and potential crop contamination from a GreenTech machine.

“The other key feature for this robust machine is the way it can be set up for reliable and outstanding spray coverage and the flexibility of spray head adjustment can be pinpoint accurate with the capacity to isolate individual spray heads to target specific applications – such as disease spray or fertiliser.    

“One of the extraordinary strengths of the GreenTech product is it produces the right droplets for obtaining the best spray coverage with excellent cost savings and reliability,” she says.

“And the in-cab adjustments, for when you are working with chemicals, can also be made to the fan spray head’s positioning in precise fan angles for tree architecture, affording exceptional coverage.”

Ms Childs and Boombera Park use their GreenTech machine to apply fungicides, pesticides and foliar nutrition to tall trees, where she says it is essential to have outstanding high-volume air velocity to also offset climate conditions.

Currently Boombera Park applies between 500 L/ha to a maximum of about 1000L/ha and is reporting excellent results in both crop and foliage protection.

Mr Baek, GreenTech International managing director, says the GreenTech brand offers “a uniquely designed spray system which more than pays its way, starting with low-power consumption and significant saving fuel costs for the tractor.

“GreenTech has grown to be a significant business after starting out very small in South Australia,” Mr Baek says.

“The company has now exported spray systems to New Zealand, the US and South America,” he says.

“At GreenTech we recognise agriculture is becoming more challenging, and that’s why we are always looking for ways of making horticulture more efficient by acquiring the best technology.”