Specialty Crops Practice Exam 2025 – Complete Test Preparation

To determine how long it will take to apply a one-acre field using a tractor-mounted sprayer that travels at 3 mph with a 15-foot boom, we can break down the problem into manageable parts.

First, it's important to understand that an acre is equivalent to 43,560 square feet. A 15-foot boom will spray a strip of 15 feet wide as the tractor moves. We need to calculate how many passes are necessary to cover one acre fully.

To find out how many linear feet are needed to cover an acre, we take the total square footage and divide it by the width of the boom:

1. Calculate the total length needed to cover 1 acre:

- Acre = 43,560 square feet

- Width of the boom = 15 feet

- Total length = 43,560 square feet / 15 feet = 2,904 feet

Next, we need to calculate how long it will take to cover these 2,904 feet at a speed of 3 mph. First, we'll convert the speed from miles per hour to feet per minute. There are 5,280 feet in a mile, so:

- Speed in feet per minute = 3 mph x 5