Which spreader is designed to fling seeds or amendments over a wide area, covering ground faster than drop spreaders?

• A. Rotary Spreader
• B. Drop Spreader
• C. Broadcast Spreader
• D. Hand Seeder

Answer: (A)

The key idea is how material is distributed. A rotary spreader uses a spinning disk or impeller to fling seeds or amendments outward, creating a wide spray pattern that covers a large area quickly. This spreading action lets you move across the ground in broad passes and control the rate so you don’t over- or under-apply, which is exactly what you want when seed or fertilizer needs to reach a wide swath efficiently.

In contrast, a drop spreader releases material straight downward as you walk, producing a narrow band directly beneath the spreader. That makes precise placement possible in small or edge-focused areas, but it’s slower to cover wide ground. A hand seeder is manual and best for tiny patches, not lawn-scale coverage. Some terminology also uses “broadcast spreader” interchangeably with rotary, since both describe wide, outward dispersion, but the rotating mechanism is the defining feature that enables fast, broad coverage.