Different ways to distribute

From the type of application needed to maintenance and training concerns, lawn care operators must weigh the pros and cons of using spreaders or sprayers to decide which one will be most effective for the job at hand.

Here, three owners share their experiences with spreaders and sprayers and when it does (and doesn’t) make sense to use each for lawn care applications.

Strengths and weaknesses

While sprayers and spreaders have similar functions, they each have specific strengths, says Bobby Gagnon, owner of Weed Away in Greensboro, N.C. The company primarily focuses on residential properties and currently have a spreader, backpack sprayer, tank sprayer and handheld sprayer in their lineup.

“For fertilization, spreading offers a more controlled and consistent nutrient release, often allowing for less frequent applications due to the slow-release nature of granules,” Gagnon says. “These granules can release nutrients based on temperature or moisture.”

Sprayers are especially versatile when it comes to lawn care, offering precision and control, Gagnon says. Those characteristics play an important role in applications like weed control, disease management and applying plant growth regulators.

“One of the key advantages of sprayers is their ability to deliver liquid products directly to the foliage, which is crucial for tasks like post-emergent weed control, where the herbicide needs to be absorbed by the leaves,” Gagnon says.

When it comes to weed control and disease management, he says sprayers are indispensable. They allow them to make a targeted treatment, which is ideal for spot applications where precision is necessary to avoid damaging the surrounding areas, Gagnon says.

“For example, when applying post-emergent weed control where we target weeds that have already sprouted, the herbicide needs to stay on the leaf surface to ensure proper absorption,” Gagnon says.

On the other hand, spreaders are simpler and more consistent, Gagnon says. They allow for a more controlled and gradual release of nutrients. That’s particularly true with slow-release granules, which can reduce the frequency of applications, he says.

“This makes spreaders ideal for large-scale fertilization tasks where uniform coverage is essential,” Gagnon says. “The simplicity of their design also means that training operators is generally easier, focusing mainly on calibration and understanding the swath width to ensure even application.”

As for disadvantages with the equipment, the complexity of sprayers can pose issues, Gagnon says. They must train operators on how to use different product types such as wettable powders, liquids, emulsifiable concentrates, flowables and water-dispersible granules.

“Each type may require different mixing techniques, and some may need constant tank agitation to prevent particles from settling,” Gagnon says.

Additionally, sprayers require careful calibration to ensure the correct application rate, which varies depending on the equipment type — whether it's a tank, backpack or boom sprayer.

With spreaders, operators can have uneven product distribution if they aren’t properly calibrated, Gagnon says. Operators need to be mindful of overlapping the swath width to avoid having under- or over-fertilized areas. Spreaders being transported in the bed of a truck can also lose calibration from the vibrations and need to be checked.

“As they sit in the bed of the truck while driving, they have the risk of accidentally becoming recalibrated while hitting bumps,” Gagnon says. “So, the operator has to make sure that everything is correctly calibrated between jobs. While maintenance is generally low, the accuracy of a spreader can be compromised if these calibration checks are neglected.”

Though spreader technology isn’t as innovative, Gagnon says the equipment consistently receives advances. “These updates typically include new designs and better features,” he says. “Some of these features could include sprayer performance or longevity.”

The liquids used in sprayers are also more complex than granular products and require different mixture methods depending on the product type, which impacts the operator training, Gagnon says.

There are various product types and ones that need to be mixed differently, requiring operators to run tests to ensure that combining two or more herbicides don’t cause a reaction. Operators also need to run tests to ensure their walking speed results in the correct application for tank, backpack or handheld sprayers.

Training operators on how to use a spreader is easier than with a sprayer, he says, as long as they understand calibration and the appropriate swath width.

“When going back and forth on a lawn, you want to overlap the swath as the fertilizer isn’t equally spread across the swath width,” Gagnon says. “It is most concentrated in the center and gradually decreases the further away from the spreader the granules land.”

Maintenance for sprayers includes tasks like cleaning the tanks, checking gaskets and general upkeep of components, Gagnon says. With tank and ride-on sprayers with engines, the standard engine maintenance protocols also apply. Spreaders don’t require as much maintenance, with the primary focus for these pieces of equipment being on the calibration.

Combo approach

To apply both liquid and granular products, Charlie Miller — owner of Custom Lawncare in Mount Airy, Md. — and his team use a single machine. They service both commercial and residential properties and rely on their seven spreader-sprayers for applications on large-scale properties. “We use all of the same units so that we can buy parts in mass and maintain the fleet,” Miller says. “We can also pull parts off of spares if we need to.”

Warranties and the type of equipment their dealer provides also play a role in which machines they choose for their fleet. “If my dealer was selling another type of machine, we’d probably use whatever unit they had,” Miller says.

All of their operators had been previously trained on the spreaders, so the main concern with operation

is ensuring they properly calibrate the equipment, Miller says.

As for the advantages of sprayers, Miller says they are efficient, well-built and have high operation speeds. They have five full-time mechanics, but Miller says they don’t experience much downtime with the machines.

Some disadvantages to sprayers are that the nozzles can get clogged and there can be issues with transporting multiple machines at once.

“We have to strap them down without them rubbing against each other, which would break the boom and spray nozzles,” Miller says. “We have to put wheel chocks in ours to keep them separate.”

Exclusively liquid

For Tim Muys, president of Green Blade Lawn Care in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, deciding which equipment to use came down to what application method worked the best.

“When we established that liquid was the superior product 28 years ago following two years of intense and substantial testing, we immediately abandoned the spreaders and adopted sprayers,” Muys says.

Muys says he found that liquid applications resulted in less waste, were easier for them to blend, produced more even results and were less impacted by seasonal variations. Sprayers are especially ideal for small, hard-to-navigate areas, as well as near flowers and shrubs.

They now have 18 three-ton trucks in Manitoba and are preparing seven three-ton trucks for their launch into the Alberta market. The trucks carry 800 gallons of liquid fertilizer and weed control and feature a variable pressure water pump, hose, hose reel and metered sprayer.

Their sprayers are fairly low-tech, Muys says, and little has changed with them during the years. But this rudimentary design and ease of use are characteristics they enjoy having with sprayers.

“The simplicity of operation and ease of use makes training our technicians very easy and makes developing the skill of accurate application very easy to pick up and excel at for our technicians,” Muys says.

Maintenance for sprayers is also minimal, he adds. They check their spray nozzles and hoses daily, and their pumps need little maintenance during the season. Using high-quality parts also helps keeps the sprayers up and running throughout the season with minimal maintenance.

“When breakdowns do occur, replacing a nozzle takes seconds, replacing a hose takes about 10 to 15 minutes and replacing a pump takes about 15 to 20 minutes,” Muys says. “All of these repairs can be done in the field if you are properly equipped.”

Compared to using spreaders for granular applications, sprayers don’t pose the same risk of having the product be over-applied, Muys says.

“If a technician applying granular fertilizer becomes distracted or isn’t paying attention, they can easily over apply to some of the same areas,” Muys says. “Granular spreaders are so dependent on the walking speed, wind, the spreader mechanism and the responsibility of the operator, that over- and under-application is all too common.”

He says there’s often a misconception that spraying too much liquid fertilizer will cause fertilizer burn, but that occurs when the concentration of the fertilizer is too high — not due to a heavy application of a properly concentrated product.

“Our liquid lawn care products, even when applied twice to the same lawn, will produce the same results as the formulation remains the same,” Muys says.

The author is a freelance writer based in Wisconsin.