An apparatus for biological control of agricultural pests and for reducing damage to crops is disclosed. The apparatus includes a rotatable container for holding biological organisms or material. The walls of the container include a series of openings through which the biological organisms or material can pass, dispersing the biological organisms or material over a target area when the container is rotated.

An apparatus for biological control of agricultural pests and for reducing damage to crops. The apparatus includes a container for holding biological organisms or material. The container also includes first and second ends and an opening formed at the first end for receiving the biological organisms. The apparatus has a dispensing port disposed at the second end for dispensing the biological organisms over a target location. The apparatus further includes an auger, driven by a motor and having a plurality of spiral like wire brushes, said auger mounted to and driven by a first motor; a spreader motor mount having a motor mount holding area for holding a second motor, the spreader motor mount having a motor mount connection area for connecting to the second end; and a spreader agitating device used for spreading the biological organisms or material over the target location.

A dispenser unit (1) for dispensing biological material, e.g. larvae or insects etc. The dispenser unit has a rotary arrangement (2) with a drive shaft (3) and a plurality of protruding vanes (4) positioned inside a housing (10) for encasing the rotary arrangement to form chambers (5) for containing biological material between respective neighbouring vanes and an inner wall (11) of the housing. A track (6) on the housing serves to engage with each vane or movable element to control the volume of the chamber between an inlet opening (20) in a top part of the housing and an outlet opening (21) in a bottom part of the housing. This allows the biological material to be received in the chambers at the inlet opening (20) and dispensed from the chambers (5) at the outlet opening (21) during rotation of the rotary arrangement. The dispensing unit is designed to provide for an expanding chamber volume as the chambers are being rotated from the inlet opening to the outlet opening. The dispenser unit has proven to provide a low mortality e.g. for dispensing living larvae. It can be transported by a drone or the like to spread biological material over a large area.

An apparatus for biological control of agricultural pests and for reducing damage to crops is disclosed. The apparatus includes a rotatable container for holding biological organisms or material. The walls of the container include a series of openings through which the biological organisms or material can pass, dispersing the biological organisms or material over a target area when the container is rotated. An improved embodiment of the apparatus further includes a sleeve around the container for controlling the dispersion rate. The sleeve includes a second series of openings which, when aligned or partially aligned with the container openings, form gaps of variable size and shape through which the biological organisms or material can pass.

A method and assembly for broadcast distributing a granular agricultural material. The assembly includes a container that is configured to be supported by a chassis of a self-powered vehicle and contain a volume of a solid granular material. The assembly includes a spinner assembly that includes a first disk and a second disk that are disposed toward opposite lateral outboard sides of the vehicle. A mount arrangement is disposed between the spinner assembly and the chassis and is adjustable to manipulate a position of the first spinner and the second spinner relative to the chassis. Preferably, the mounting arrangement is configured to simultaneously adjust the position of the first spinner and the second spinner relative to the chassis.

An apparatus for dispensing biological control agents, the apparatus comprising: a hopper for containing biological control agents, the hopper comprising an orifice arranged to allow the dispensation of the biological control agents therethrough; and a valve wheel arranged outside the hopper and adjacent to the orifice, the valve wheel being arranged to rotate about a valve wheel axis to move the biological control agents away from the orifice.