Remember Dibble’s Law in Orchard Sprayings

Keep this in mind:   < 2 mph!

Jack Dibble is credited with Dibble’s Law.

It’s called Dibble’s Law and it’s named after Dr. Jack Dibble, a retired UC Berkeley and UC Kearney Agricultural and Extension Center Research Entomologist.

He has worked primarily in tree crops and a big part of his career was on spray techniques and he is well known for Dibbles Law, which states the best spray coverage is when the driver goes less than two miles per hour down the row.

“We found out right from the outset and continued to prove this with growers and commercial spray applicator companies that speed of travel is very important,” said Dibble, in an exclusive interview with California Ag Today.

“The faster you go, the whippier the spray gets, and the spray that is released must be pushed up into the tree by the spray behind it,” said Dibble. “If the driver is going too fast, there is no spray pushing the spray you just released. Therefore, you lose control of the spray project because you are not getting coverage in the centers at the top of the tree.”

“By going two miles per hour or less, the spray released will be pushed up into the tree by the spray behind it. It just pushes it up,” said Dibble.