Design and characterization of a real-time capacitive system to estimate pesticides spray deposition and drift

Abstract

This study presents and characterizes a new sensor for estimating real-time pesticide spray deposition and drift. The capacitive effect-based sensor operates at 625Hz, allowing for the analysis of spray transitory and stationary responses (hitting and remaining droplets on the target). A peak in the transitory response indicates overdosing (droplets bounce back or leak down the target). Moreover, the sensing range goes from spray drift 0.02μL·cm-2 to extremely wet 15μL·cm-2. The results reveal drawbacks in terms of four aspects, namely relative humidity, ambient temperature, droplet size, and chemical composition of the solution. However, all of them can be addressed using proper calibrations.