A new entry-level mounted sprayer – the Alto – and a “greeneræ and more convenient plumbing installation for the Racer trailed sprayer are among developments in the Berthoud range.

The Alto replacement for the Pulvasol comes in 300 to 800-litre sizes with 7m to 12m manually folding booms and optional hydraulic lift.

Unlike the sprayer it replaces, the newcomer features an integrated clean water supply that can be used to flush the spraylines without diluting the tank contents. It also benefits from the addition of a high pressure filter and a venturi to increase self-filling capacity.

Manual valves and a basic pressure set system are standard but Martin Shackcloth of Berthoud UK thinks British buyers are more likely to go for the electric control package, which provides automatic pressure compensation for changes in ground speed within any gear.

Installing Dualmatic multi-port valve plumbing on Berthoud’s mid-range trailed sprayer to create the Racer EX not only brings the machine up to date in terms of control convenience but also significantly reduces the machine’s residual liquid volume.

First introduced on the higher-specification Tenor sprayer two years ago, Dualmatic replaces as many as seven individual taps and attendant pipes with two close-coupled multi-port valves.

Selecting different functions is said to be almost foolproof because there are just two handles to set three markers indicating that a particular function has been set up. The reduction in pipework minimises the quantity of spray solution remaining in the system when spraying has finished.

Dualmatic has been further developed for the Raptor self-propelled and Tenor trailed sprayers by fitting actuators and an electric control system. All the operator has to do is select a function on either of the two control panels – one mounted on the sprayer, the other in the cab – and the system’s “brainæ works out the required combination of valve ports.