Spray Boom Research Articles

Effect of spray height of a boom sprayer on chemical adhesion and control efficacy of downy mildew on onion

タマネギべと病の薬剤防除の精度向上を目的として，ブームスプレーヤの噴霧高さが薬液付着や防除効果に及ぼす影響について検討した．葉先の30 cm上方から散布した場合の薬液付着は，葉身中央部，葉身抽出部ともに良好であったが，葉先とほぼ同じ高さから散布した場合は，葉身中央部付近の薬液付着が劣った．また，べと病に対する防除効果も葉先とほぼ同じ高さから散布した場合は劣った．今後は，本試験で得られた噴霧高さと薬液付着，べと病に対する防除効果の関係性をもとに，適切な薬剤散布技術に関する指導を行う必要がある．

An Advanced Robotic System for Precision Chemical Thinning of Apple Blossoms

Highlights A cartesian robotic spraying system was developed for precision apple blossom thinning. Flower clusters were detected and localized with deep learning model for target spraying. A communication algorithm was developed for positioning the spray end-effector to the target flowers. The cartesian robotic system greatly reduced chemical usage while maintaining thinning effectiveness in the final green fruit set. Abstract. Crop thinning, including blossom thinning, is one of the critical management strategies that determines the annual profitability of apple orchards. Challenges still remain for applying appropriate amounts of chemical thinner; if thinning is inadequate and too many fruits remain on the tree, fruit size will be small, fruit quality will be poor, and flower bud initiation for the following year’s crop may be either reduced or eliminated. Over-thinning also carries economic perils since yield and crop value in the year of application will be reduced. In addition, chemical thinning with excessive spray volume may cause leaf damage and fruit russeting. Thus, a robotic apple blossom thinning system was proposed, aiming to reduce the usage of chemical thinner while maintaining good thinning performance. The robotic system consisted of three major components: (1) a machine vision system that can identify and localize the apple flower clusters in tree canopies, (2) a cartesian robotic system with the guidance of a machine vision system to reach target flower clusters, and (3) a flat-shaped spraying nozzle connected with a solenoid valve as a spraying end-effector to deposit chemical thinner to the targeted flower clusters. A set of field tests was conducted to evaluate the performance of the robotic thinning system by comparing it to conventional air-blast and boom-type sprayers. In the test, the flower cluster detection reached a precision of 93.82%. The integrated robotic system used 2.3 L of chemical thinner to finish the chemical thinning for 18 apple trees, followed by the boom sprayer and air blast sprayer with 4.2 and 6.8 L usage, respectively. The robotic system also obtained an average fruit set of 2.4 per cluster after thinning, which was comparable to that of the air blast sprayer. The results showed that the robotic thinning system saved 66.7% and 45.5% of chemicals compared to the air-blast sprayer and boom-typed sprayers, respectively, while achieving a similar fruit set per cluster. The outcomes of the study provided guidance for developing a full-scale robotic chemical thinning system for modern apple orchards. Keywords: Apple orchard, Blossom thinning, Cartesian robot, Chemical thinning, Machine vision.

Wind Tunnels and Their Uses to Study Variables Affecting Precision Applications of Agricultural Sprays

Highlights Wind tunnels were extensively used to study precision applications of agricultural sprays. Use of wind tunnels significantly contributed to the broad-reaching impact of precision applications. Wind tunnels provide controlled conditions to study a plethora of wide ranging spray variables. Abstract.The objective of this study was to review publications that were representative of wind tunnels and their uses to study variables affecting precision applications of agricultural sprays. Precision application involved the deliberate engineering of sprayers for accurate formation and dispersal of droplets and sprays to enhance spray deposits on targeted crop, foliage, or pest for increased agricultural production with reduced adverse effects to neighboring ecology and the environment. Categorical themes of wind tunnel uses were (1) spray atomization, (2) adjuvant effects, (3) spray drift, (4) spray, air movement, crop foliage interactions, (5) UAV applications, (6) airflow around sprayer, and (7) spray test methods and collections. A discovery was that nozzle design had more impact on droplet size than spray formulation, which emphasized the importance of spray nozzle selection for atomization, and that air induction (AI) venturi nozzles consistently provided reduced spray drift potential. On occasion, some adjuvants marketed as drift reduction agents acted in an opposite manner and decreased droplet size. Wind tunnel use for spray drift had the broadest range of variables studied among conceptual applications and included various nozzles, boom height, product active ingredients, adjuvants, and other variables. Deposits decreased in foliage from upper, middle, to lower foliage heights and decreased with increased wind speed. Low wind turbulence in the canopy did not contribute to deposition. Foliage deposition depended more on droplet size and local ambient winds. Canopy porosity limited the droplet size to less than 100 µm for contribution to deposits internal to the foliage. Wind tunnel use for UAV applications was mostly focused on spray drift for UAV variables such as rotor configurations and payload for mounted or tethered UAV. An ultimate recommendation was to use AI nozzles, reduce application speed, and to use a suitable adjuvant – which was similar to other applications. Contrasting results for the impact of airflow around sprays were reported for vortices around fan spray discharge of a nozzle versus a 4-nozzle boom study that found no differences in velocity and turbulence fields due to the presence or no presence of spray discharge. Spray test methods and collections determined in wind tunnels primarily focused on collection efficiencies for a wide range of spray collectors. Collection efficiencies varied with collector and droplet size. Keywords: Keywords.,Boom sprayer,Droplet size,Droplet trajectory,Nozzle classification,Spray deposit,Spray drift,Spray nozzles.

Design and implementation of a nonlinear robust controller based on the disturbance observer for the active spray boom suspension

Spray boom vibrations are one of the main causes of the uneven distribution of agrochemicals. Using active suspension to maintain the correct height of nozzles is critical for obtaining a uniform spray pattern and minimizing the possibility of spray drift. However, the electro-hydraulic active pendulum boom suspension has nonlinear uncertain factors such as parameter uncertainties, external disturbances, model error, etc., which complicate the design of the controller. Therefore, this paper proposes a nonlinear robust feedback control method with disturbances compensation, which integrates a robust controller and disturbance observers through the backstepping method. Initially, to verify the performance of the controller, the Lyapunov stability theory is used to prove that the proposed controller can guarantee the given transient performance and the final tracking accuracy. Furthermore, taking the active suspension of a 28 m wide boom driven by a single-rod hydraulic actuator as an implementation case, the proposed NRCDC controller was compared with a variety of control schemes through a rapid control prototype of a pendulum active suspension. Finally, the proposed control scheme is implemented on a self-propelled sprayer with a boom of 12 m in length. The field test results show that all the performance indicators of the NRCDC controller are better than the other three conventional controllers. Both laboratory and field tests have verified the effectiveness and high performance of the proposed controller. Keywords: robust control, sprayer boom, boom suspension, hydraulic control system, disturbance observer DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20231601.7007 Citation: Cui L F, Xue X Y, Kong W, Ding S M, Gu W, Le F X. Design and implementation of a nonlinear robust controller based on the disturbance observer for the active spray boom suspension. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2023; 16(1): 153–161.

Development of a wheel operated boom sprayer for hilly regions of Jammu and Kashmir

Development of a wheel operated boom sprayer for hilly regions of Jammu and Kashmir

Automatic spray control system for four wheel drive (4WD) self-propelled high clearance boom sprayer

Automatic spray control system for four wheel drive (4WD) self-propelled high clearance boom sprayer

Pineapple Crop Fertiliser Application Method: A Preliminary Study on the Performance and Effectiveness of a Boom Sprayer and a Sprayer Drone

Fertilisation of pineapple crops can be done by using either the combination of dry and liquid fertiliser or just the liquid fertiliser. A boom spraying machine is often used to apply liquid fertiliser but recently drone spraying has gained popularity among farmers because of its speed and convenience of use in applying chemicals, particularly for pest and disease control. However, the performance and efficacy of drone applications used for fertilisation have yet to be proven. The aim of this study is to evaluate both spraying techniques to observe and compare the performance, which included the effects of fertilisation on crop growth by comparing the plant height and leaf length. A tractor-mounted boom spraying machine with a tank capacity of 400 L equipped with 10 m boom and a 10 L capacity spraying drone with 4 m effective spraying width were used in this preliminary evaluation. The evaluation was conducted in split plots with an area of 0.2 ha with 9000 plants per area each. The performance of both machines was measured in terms of the work rate, effective field capacity and field efficiency. According to the results, the application work rates of the boom spraying machine and the drone were 0.95 ha/h and 3.88 ha/h, respectively. Due to the small chemical tank capacity, the drone application is less efficient, with an effective field capacity of 0.08 ha/h compared to the boom sprayer's 0.29 ha/h, which requires frequent fertiliser preparation to satisfy fertilisation needs. There was no significant difference in crop growth performance between the two applications with a p-value >0.05. Drones have the potential to improve fertiliser spraying activity for pineapple crops, but they must be scheduled more often than boom spraying machines. The mixing method should be improved because of its time-consuming preparative work.

Spray Deposition and Distribution on Rice as Affected by a Boom Sprayer with a Canopy-Opening Device

In China, rice growers predominantly use boom sprayers. However, boom sprayers have several drawbacks related to poor penetration in the middle and late stages of rice growth. Several studies have shown that the use of the canopy-opening device can improve droplet deposition in the middle and under layers of rice. Some growers doubt the efficacy of canopy-opening boom sprayers, whereas others have questions about their use. This study aimed to address both doubts and questions by evaluating the effect of spraying rice using a canopy-opening device and a canopy-opening divider combination device. The tested rice variety was “Longliangyou 2010”. Three different boom sprayers were evaluated for this purpose: (1) a boom sprayer with a canopy-opening device, (2) a boom sprayer with a canopy-opening divider combination device, and (3) a traditional boom sprayer. The effects of the position of the canopy-opening device and the spraying velocity on the deposition of droplets were considered. The experiments showed that the droplet coverage was significantly affected by boom sprayers, the position of the canopy-opening device, the spraying velocity, and the interaction of the position of the canopy-opening device and the spraying velocity. Under the spraying distance of 60 cm from the rice root and the spraying velocity of 1.2 m s−1, the spraying coverage of the paraxial surface of the whole canopy was higher than that of other treatment conditions when the canopy opening device was used. The positive spraying coverage rates of the upper, middle and lower layers were 95.18%, 88.41% and 94.99%, respectively. Compared with the traditional boom sprayer, the use of the canopy-opening device increased the average droplet coverage on the adaxial surface canopy by more than 72.91% and the average droplet coverage on the abaxial surface canopy by more than 6.88%.

Algorithm for Calculating the Parameters of a Garden Boom Sprayer for Pesticide Application

Abstract. It is noted that for the rational use of pesticides in industrial horticulture, it is necessary to reduce their consumption practicing the local treatment of each plant, uniform distribution of the working fluid at a set rate while treating a tree’s or a shrub’s crown. The analysis of the technical equipment of modern industrial horticulture in Russia reveals an insufficient level of mechanization in terms of managing the parameters of both the technological process and machinery. (Research purpose) To develop an algorithm for calculating the parameters of a boom garden sprayer when treating fruit plants with pesticides, to ensure their high-quality application, reduce losses and eliminate the risks of environmental pollution. (Materials and methods) The research is based on analytical methods of optimization offered by applied mathematics, the theory of choosing the parameters of agricultural mobile machines, criteria for assessing the quality of the working fluid distribution during the fruit plant treatment, data on the crown shape of the trees and shrubs being cultivated. (Results and discussion) It was established that the amount of working fluid per unit length of the perimeter and the quality of distribution depend on the shape of the spray jet distribution diagram, the degree of the distribution diagrams overlap, the distance between the boom and the tree’s or shrub’s axis of symmetry, the distance of the nozzles from the boom, the shape of the distribution diagram. Analytical dependencies were obtained to calculate the rate (dose) of pesticides and the quality of their distribution over the treated surface. (Conclusions) An algorithm for the analytical calculation of a boom garden sprayer parameters was developed, which makes it possible to evaluate the impact on the rate of applying pesticides and on the quality of distributing the pesticide working liquid, characterized by the variation coefficient. At the same time, the following parameters were taken into account: the distribution diagram of the pesticide working fluid, the number of nozzles on the vertical sprayer boom, the height of their location on the boom, the distance from the boom to the crown surface, the distance between the boom and the trunk of the tree treated, the crown perimeter. The algorithm was verified for specific parameter values: the distance of 1.0 meter from the vertical boom to the axis of the tree (shrub) trunk; the distance of 0.5 meter between the nozzles and the vertical bar, the height of the nozzles on the vertical bar of 0.3, 0.8 and 1.3 meter, the working fluid flow rate of 2.5 liters per minute, the coefficient characterizing the distribution diagram of 5.61. The dose of the pesticide working solution to apply was calculated as follows: 174.6 liters per hectare with a coefficient of variation of 4.94 percent, which corresponds to the agrotechnical requirements.

Influence of the instability of the field crop sprayer boom on the spraying uniformity

The purpose of the paper was to determine the influence of the instability of the sprayer field boom on the amount of working fluid applied to the sprayed plants. To achieve such aim, experiment was planned with the use of an obstacle course specially designed for this purpose and using artificial plants. Three nozzles of different types were investigated, i.e., universal flat-jet ISO F-03-110 (F110), low-drift ISO LD-03-110 (LD) and injector (anti-drift) ISO-03-110 MiniDrift (MD). Obtained results indicate that obstacles have clearly noticeable influence of spraying quality, understood as level and stability of working fluid deposition values. The worst results were obtained for MD nozzle while the best results were obtained for LD nozzle, both in terms of under/overdosing the working fluid (maximum 36% of overdose) and stability of results, what can lead to the conclusion that LD nozzles should be recommended for spraying fields with rough surfaces. • Influence of the sprayer boom instability on the spraying quality was evaluated. • Obstacle course was prepared according to the guidelines of the ISO 22763 standard. • Evaluated were three types of nozzles. • Variability of working fluid deposition was the biggest for anti-drift nozzle. • Low-drift nozzle seems to be the most appropriate for spraying uneven fields.

Optimal design of double-link trapezoidal boom suspension for high gap self-propelled sprayer based on ANSYS

The high gap self-propelled sprayer has the characteristics of wide boom width and high working efficiency. Aiming at the problem that the spray boom is prone to mechanical vibration along with the body and affects the spraying effect, the static analysis and modal analysis of the boom suspension of its two-link trapezoidal mechanism are carried out, based on the ANSYS simulation method. The results show that the optimized stress at the end boom suspension connection is reduced from 161MPa to 22MPa, and the maximum displacement is reduced from 35mm to 7mm. The maximum stress of the inner boom suspension was reduced from 128.36MPa to 88.07MPa Stress distribution and displacement conditions achieve the desired effect. The modal analysis results show that the first six natural frequencies of the boom suspension do not coincide. And this frequency reasonably avoids the external excitation frequency range, and avoids unnecessary damage caused by the resonance of the boom suspension in the actual operation of the sprayer.

Sprayer boom height measurement in wheat field using ultrasonic sensor: An exploratory study.

In order to explore the influencing factors and laws of ultrasonic sensor detecting wheat canopy height, designed an ultrasonic sensor detection height test platform with speed adjustable function. Taking step surface, bare soil and wheat canopy as the research objects, a canopy height calculation method based on K-mean clustering is proposed, and the response characteristics of ultrasonic detection to three media under different operating speeds are explored. Firstly, the step detection test results show that the average detection error of ultrasonic sensor is 1.35%. When the sensor detection distance is switched at the step, with the increase of detection distance, the actual offset at the step increases first and then tends to be stable, and the maximum offset is 10.4cm. The test results of bare soil slope show that the relative error between the detection distance and the manual measurement distance is 1.4% under quasi-static conditions. The leading or lagging of detection under moving conditions is affected by multiple factors such as terrain undulation, speed and detection range. The detection test results of wheat canopy showed that the detection distance was larger than the manual measurement distance, and the smaller the canopy density, the greater the detection error and error variance. When the moving speed is 0.3m/s-1.2m/s, the average detection deviation of the ultrasonic sensor for five kinds of wheat canopy density is 0.14m, and the maximum variance of the detection deviation is 0.07cm2. In this paper, the research on the response characteristics of ultrasonic to the detection of bare soil and sparse canopy in wheat field can provide technical support for the detection of crop canopy in the field.

Semi-Automatic Boom Sprayer Development for Corn Crop Protection

A semi-automatic boom sprayer was developed to make it easier for farmers to spray pesticides on corn plants. The study was conducted with two treatments at the corn age of 15 days and 30 days. A test was carried out by comparing the performance of the semi-automatic boom sprayer and the performance of the generally used knapsack sprayer. This research also involved evaluation in the laboratory, evaluation in the field, and economic analysis. From the results of technical tests on corn plants aged 15 days and 30 days, it can be concluded that the capacity of the semi-automatic boom sprayer was 0.318 ha/hour with an operator speed of 0.316 m/s. The tank capacity of the semi-automatic boom sprayer was larger than that of the knapsack sprayer. The spraying efficiency of the semi-automatic boom sprayer was greater than that of the knapsack sprayer, namely 86.033% vs. 85.269%, respectively.

Design, Development and Testing of Battery Electric Vehicle Sprayer

To reduce the dependency on the fossil fuels a low-cost Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) sprayer was developed in the present investigation which has a boom sprayer attachment and battery electric vehicle as a prime mover. The developed system has high uniformity of spray, the spray distribution along with the swath and easy to adjust height of boom over a target crop. The developed BEV sprayer was tested in the laboratory and on the experimental field for optimization of the operating parameters for green gram crop. It was observed that an electric motor of 1 kW, 48 V, BLDC capable to propelled the vehicle. The forward speed studied for optimization of spray nozzles were 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 km/h and nozzles were tested at the operating pressures of 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 kg/cm2 with orifice diameters of 0.6 mm, 0.8 mm, and 1.0 mm in the experimental field. The RSM results showed that the optimized performance of the sprayer with 0.8 mm orifice size nozzle on 3.0 kg/cm2 pressure and at a forward speed of 2.5 km/h for the green gram crop. The field tests were carried out on the optimized parameters it was observed that the effective field capacity of the sprayer was 1.09 ha/h with field efficiency of 79.81 per cent.

Quantification of Spray Drift of Wheel Operated Boom Sprayer for Assessing Environmental Risk

Quantification of Spray Drift of Wheel Operated Boom Sprayer for Assessing Environmental Risk

Directional Shape Feature Extraction Using Modified Line Filter Technique for Weed Classification

Precision agriculture is gaining attention as it employs modern technologies and intelligence for automation in agricultural practices. In the area of weed management, automation is advantageous to select the appropriate herbicide and manage the amount used, which consequently reduced the cost and minimizes the environmental impact. Selective spraying using a sprayer boom can be implemented using automatic detection of weed type. This paper presents a weed classification method based on a modified line filter image analysis technique that can effectively detect the morphological differences, mainly directional shape features, between two types of weeds. After the result for binary classification has been verified, a third dataset is introduced which is mixed leaves which consists of an approximately balanced amount of broadleaves and narrow leaves. The weed images were pre-processed using the adaptive histogram method and difference of Gaussian to improve the image contrast and delineate the edges of the weed. The images were then processed using the proposed modified line filter feature extraction technique. The filter is based on the evaluation of pixel response that corresponds to the pre-defined lines at different orientations from 0o to 360o. The pixel strength of each line was compared to determine the overall response of the filter. The proposed method achieved around 97% classification, superior compared to previously reported methods such as Gabor wavelet as well as a combination of Gabor and Gradient Field Distribution (GFD).

Development and evaluation of a tractor-operated automatic gun sprayer for cotton crop

A tractor-operated automatic gun sprayer was developed for the cotton crop. The unit consists of frame structure, spray tank, horizontal triplex pump, control valves, spray gun nozzle, pressure gauge, strainer, hydraulic agitator and actuating mechanism. The power to drive the HTP pump was taken from the tractor power take off (PTO) through a belt and pulley. The actuating mechanism consists of motor and worm gear reduction. Two motors with 0.5 kW each (12 V dc) were used to provide oscillation motion to spray guns and motors get power from the tractor battery. The rotation angle of the spray gun is 30° horizontally. Provision was also made to fold the spray boom while in transport. The spray pattern could be adjusted based on the application of chemicals. This study was conducted to determine the suitable nozzle orientation (0, 15 and 30° downwards) to field crops. The orientation of the spray nozzle was maintained by using the metal protractor. The laboratory experiments were carried out by using the actual cotton plant. The best nozzle orientation for maximum droplet density and droplet size as 15° downward. Leaf hopper [Amrasca biguttula (Ishida)] and aphids [Aphis gossypii (Glover)] control in the cotton crop after 7th day of spraying dinotefuran insecticide from the automatic gun sprayer and conventional tractor-operated gun sprayer was 87, 86 and 58 %, and 50 %, respectively. The total cost required to fabricate the sprayer was US$ 1008. The cost of operation of the tractor operated automatic gun sprayer was found to be US$ 4.7/ ha.

Spray volumes for agrochemicals applied to soybean and wheat crops

The question of the spray volume for applying agrochemicals to plants has and still demands studies to continuously search for guiding parameters for technicians due to the several variables involving application technology. This experiment aimed to determine the best spray volume for applying pesticides with a boom sprayer to soybean (Glycine max) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) crops. The experiment had a completely randomized blocks design with five treatments and five replications. In soybean (crop year 2011/12), the treatments were the control (no pesticide application) and spray volume applications of 50, 100, 150, and 200 L ha-1. For wheat (crop year 2012), the treatments were the control and spray volumes of 75, 100, 125, and 150 L ha-1. The variables analyzed were the yield components. The study concluded the need for applying foliar fertilizers and performing the chemical control of diseases and pests in soybean and wheat crops. The spray volumes of 50 L ha-1 for soybeans and 75 L ha-1 for wheat were satisfactory for spraying agrochemicals with a ground bar sprayer on plants.

Corrosion Resistance of the Coating of the Frame of an Agricultural Sprayer Boom

Corrosion Resistance of the Coating of the Frame of an Agricultural Sprayer Boom

Cost and Workload Assessment of Agricultural Drone Sprayer: A Case Study of Rice Production in Japan

The shortage of labor is one of the major challenges facing agriculture in Japan. Technological innovations are required to overcome the limitations of the workload per worker. One such innovation is smart agriculture, which utilizes advanced technologies such as robots, AI, and IoT. This study aimed to provide data on the workload and pest control costs for the development of sustainable agriculture. The cost of pest control was compared between a boom sprayer, power sprayer, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for two model rice farmers. The Ovako Working Posture Analysis System (OWAS) and metabolic equivalent (METs) were used to measure workloads while using UAVs. The labor cost was reduced to half with the usage of UAVs compared with conventional machines. The resulting METs, or physical activity during pest-control work using UAVs, could be lower than those when using pest control machines. Through OWAS, 63.86% of the total jobs using UAVs were identified as having a low risk of musculoskeletal injury. The results suggest that UAVs could compensate for the shortage of workers, and these are effective tools to support the expansion of the agricultural area.