Spray Boom Research Articles

Mobile sensing system for phenotyping of forest seedlings in container nurseries

The primary objective of this study was to develop a universal, lightweight, and mobile system that seamlessly integrates the scanner with the construction of the horizontal spray boom at a forest nursery. This innovative approach holds tremendous potential for advancing the assessment and management of forest seedlings, providing valuable insights and streamlining nursery operations. Multichannel spectral devices mounted on irrigation booms can be used to significantly enhance the quality assessment of forest seedlings in container nurseries. Contrary to traditional and time-consuming approaches such as laboratory analysis or destructive sampling, an active canopy optical sensor operates independently of ambient light conditions and does not necessitate spectral reference readings. Mobile irrigation systems in nurseries are ideal for incorporating plant scanners owing to their exceptional repeatability, ensuring consistently high-quality results. In our study, we rigorously tested a set of four ACS 435 Holland Scientific active crop canopy sensor along with the Vega Plus C21 laser sensor, all strategically positioned on a sprinkler boom above the nursery production field from May to September 2022. The seamless integration of these devices with the GeoSCOUT X Holland Scientific data acquisition unit formed the foundation of our system. The primary objective of this study was to develop a universal, lightweight, and mobile system that seamlessly integrates the scanner with the construction of the horizontal spray boom at a forest nursery. This innovative approach holds tremendous potential for advancing the assessment and management of forest seedlings, providing valuable insights and streamlining nursery operations.

The Impact of Fluroxypyr Drift on Soybean Phytotoxicity and the Safety Drift Thresholds

Maize–soybean intercropping can increase soybean yields and stabilize maize yields, and this practice has been widely promoted in China. Fluroxypyr is a recommended herbicide for maize seedlings, and its drift will cause phytotoxicity to neighboring soybean seedlings. A laboratory toxicity test was performed on soybeans by using a mobile bioassay spray tower. It showed that both the carrier volume and the drift deposition rate of fluroxypyr significantly influenced soybean fresh weight. The soybean fresh weight inhibition rate increased with the increase in the drift deposition rate, especially in the range of 1% to 6%, and soybean fresh weight decreased rapidly. The lack of fit R2 was 0.6875, with a 9% maximum deviation between experimental values and simulated values. The drift deposition rate upper threshold for mild phytotoxicity (10% fresh weight inhibition rate, ED10) was determined to be 3.35%, while the threshold for no phytotoxicity (0% fresh weight inhibition rate, ED0) was 1.01%. To ensure soybean safety, isolation devices and anti-drift nozzles were installed on the boom sprayer to maintain drift below ED0 or, at most, ED10. Maize seedling strip weed control field tests showed that the highest drift deposition rate was 0.689% under the carrier volume of 330 L·ha−1. There was no phytotoxicity observed on soybeans after 21 days of application, which was consistent with laboratory research results. In this study, the phytotoxicity risk and safe thresholds for the fluroxypyr drift on soybean seedlings were established, which provide a theoretical basis for the safe production of soybeans.

Assessing two methods for agrochemical application (Tractor-Based and UAV) in rice fields

Introduction. Rice is one of the world’s most consumed grains in the world and is the most cultivated annual crop in Costa Rica. During rice’s growth, some kernel characteristics can be enhanced by using plant growth regulators (PGR), usually sprayed over the crop with a tractor-based spray boom (SB). Recently, the use of Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sprayers, in PGR applications, has become more common. However, the lack of efficiency compared with conventional methods (as SB) urges research development. Objective. To compare spraying efficiency of SB and UAV using a PGR over rice (Oryza sativa). Materials and methods. Three treatments of different volumes with SB (SB100=100 L ha-1, SB150=150 L ha-1 and SB200=200 L ha-1), three treatments with UAV (D10=10 L ha-1, D20=20 L ha-1 and D30=30 L ha-1) and one control (no spray application) were conducted in a rice field located in Pavones, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Five repetitions were carried out in a completely randomized design for all treatments with different PGR rates and considering spraying quality (coverage, uniformity and droplet density), rice yield, and rice milling quality as efficiency parameters. Results and discussion. SB and UAV treatments did not present statistical differences in rice milling quality and yield. Considering the spray quality for SB, SB100 complied with the required droplet density (more than 20 drops cm-2), while being the treatment with the lowest water use. As for spray quality in UAV treatments, neither had the minimum droplet density required (7.44 - 17.4 drops cm-2), in addition to a poor uniformity performance with high values of coefficient of variation (48.49 - 57.77%). Conclusion. After evaluating the efficiencies of SB and UAV treatments, SB100 is the most efficient method based only on the spray quality parameter, since rice milling quality and yield did not present statistical differences.

Design of a Contact-Type Electrostatic Spray Boom System Based on Rod-Plate Electrode Structure and Field Experiments on Droplet Deposition Distribution

Spraying is currently one of the main methods of pesticide application worldwide. It converts the pesticide solution into fine droplets through a sprayer, which then deposit onto target plants. Therefore, in the process of pesticide application, improving the effectiveness of spraying while minimizing or preventing crop damage has become a key issue. Combining the advantages of electrostatic spraying technology with the characteristics of ground boom sprayers, a contact-type electrostatic boom spraying system based on a rod–plate electrode structure was designed and tested on a self-propelled boom sprayer. The charging chamber was designed based on the characteristics of the rod–plate electrode and theoretical analysis. The reliability of the device was verified through COMSOL numerical simulations, charge-to-mass ratio, droplet size, and droplet size spectrum measurements, and a droplet size prediction model was established. The deposition characteristics in soybean fields were analyzed using the Box–Behnken experimental design method. The results showed that the rod–plate electrode structure demonstrated its superiority with a maximum spatial electric field of 2.31 × 106 V/m. When the spray pressure was 0.3 MPa and the charging voltage was 8 kV, the droplet size decreased by 26.6%, and the charge-to-mass ratio reached 2.88 mC/kg. Field experiments showed that when the charging voltage was 8 kV, the spray pressure was 0.3 MPa, the traveling speed was 7 km/h, and the number of deposited droplets was 8517. This study provides some basis for the application of electrostatic spraying technology in large-scale field operations.

A means of destroying sites of perennial root shoot weeds with pests and diseases in them

BACKGROUND: The subject of the study is the technological process of protective spraying of agricultural crops using a combined method against perennial weeds in sites in the field using two pneumohydraulic devices with slot atomizers as part of an improved small-sized boom sprayer. AIM: Development of a technical mean for exterminating sites of perennial root shoot weeds with pests and diseases in them. METHODS: The developed pneumohydraulic devices were used for an improved mounted boom sprayer of plants to treat sites of perennial weeds in the field. Chemical spraying with combined use of the traditional method and the developed pneumohydraulic devices with axial fans and 12 V electric motors, ensuring the distribution of droplet liquid on the treatment surface with two sprayers over 4 meters, is able to reduce the amount of the applied chemicals compared to the conventional technology and to reduce the pesticide load on crop plants by local destruction of sites of weeds, pests and diseases. Based on the developed methods, the results of spraying the surface with a drop liquid with a known dispersion using slot sprayers and controlled liquid pressures with a dial gauge during experiments were obtained. SCIENTIFIC NOVELTY: For the first time, a combined method and technical mean of achieving the research aim have been proposed for the destruction of sites of perennial weeds in the field and the diseases and pests of agricultural crops spread in them. RESULTS: When using a mounted sprayer with two containers for working fluids of combined herbicide solutions or for an insecticide solution in one of the containers and installation of the improved pneumohydraulic devices on the edges of the boom with a conventional arrangement of slot atomizers, it is possible to meet agrotechnical requirements for the use of herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. The simultaneous impact of large drops of herbicides on weeds and the penetration of small drops into plants will destroy sites of rhizome and root weeds with pests and diseases to ensure favorable conditions for the production of agricultural crops. CONCLUSION: A combined method and the technical mean of chemical treatment of perennial weeds with pests and diseases to create favorable conditions for the production of cultivated plants has been experimentally substantiated. Compliance with the conditions is ensured by equipping the mounted sprayer with two containers, pumps for supplying liquid through hoses to slot atomizers, and installing pneumohydraulic liquid nozzles at the edges of the boom. Working liquid sprayers ensure spraying width of more than 4 m, taking into account the size of a site, as well as spraying inaccessible areas using conventional technical means. The efficiency of the developed combined protective spraying of agricultural crops against perennial weeds and pests by the technical mean of its implementation lies in the savings of expensive herbicides and insecticides up to 70% in the later stages of their growing season (as they grow over the field area) compared to the forced continuous application of the herbicide over the entire field area.

Development of a flexible electronic control unit for seamless integration of machine vision to CAN-enabled boom sprayers for spot application technology

This research work aimed to develop an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) to establish a flexible bridge between machine vision and boom sprayer to control nozzles individually for pesticide spot application based on the Controller Area Network (CAN). The ECU consisted of two electronic entities. The first used UART protocol to parse machine vision messages, detect pest areas, and convert them into binary arrays for nozzle activation. The second received these arrays and generated nozzle controller CAN frames which were broadcast to control the sprayer nozzles on the implement bus. The ECU was tested in four scenarios involving combinations of three machine vision systems and two nozzle systems. The lab tests confirmed, assuming accurate detections, the ECU successfully sent spray commands to all targets across various camera-nozzle ratios. However, at specific ratios (1:3 and 1:6), some nozzles opened in unintended patterns. In the fourth scenario conducted in the field at a 1:2 ratio, all targets were sprayed regardless of their dimensions and distribution in the field. In this scenario, the sprayer operated at speeds of 3.22 km/h, 6.44 km/h, and 9.66 km/h, demonstrating real-time spraying with 55° angled nozzles, where the ECU sent CAN messages every 10ms and issued 400 ms spray commands upon detection, achieving a minimum spray length of 345 mm per detection.

A method to spatially assess multipass spray deposition patterns via UV fluorescence and weed population shifts

AbstractSpray deposition patterns from agricultural sprayers are traditionally sampled discretely along a field transect accounting for 0.5% or less of the treated area. Such methods may not fully capture the dimensional variability inherent in large‐scale, multiple‐pass spray applications, especially evident from an agricultural spray drone (ASD). This study investigated the utilization of UV‐fluorescent dye and nighttime aerial imaging techniques to assess large‐scale, multipass spray deposition patterns. Accuracy of digital hue from UV‐fluorescent photography to predict deposition of proxy dye was confirmed via fluorometry assessed intensity levels of extracted UV‐fluorescent dye from 384 Petri dishes placed prior to treatment. Results showed that ASD applications, regardless of nozzle type, exhibited greater spatial variability within the target area compared to ride‐on sprayer applications, primarily due to overapplication. Additionally, the ASD generated spray drift to adjacent nontarget areas that was at least three times more than that of ride‐on and spray‐gun sprayers. Multipass deposition was further assessed via in situ smooth crabgrass infestation following treatment with quinclorac or topramezone by multipass ASD or hand‐held, four‐nozzle spray boom. Weed infestation annotated from overlaid grids with 9.3‐dm2 ground resolution inconsistently detected spatial heterogeneity between transects assessed along the center and edge of each sprayer pass. The ASD controlled smooth crabgrass 11% more than the hand‐held sprayer, albeit with an 18% increase in spray drift to nontarget areas, similar to the UV‐fluorescence study. Digitally assessed average hue of fluorescence photography appears to be a viable method to assess multidimensional and continuous spatial relationships of spray deposition.

Horizontal Distribution of Liquid in an Over-Row Sprayer with a Secondary Air Blower

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of boom height above a crop stand and the spacing between nozzles and diffusers in an over-row sprayer on the uniformity of the horizontal spray distribution and the uniformity of the air velocity distribution. The experimental setup involved a prototype over-row sprayer equipped with a boom with a working width of 8 m and ten air diffusers with spray nozzles. Air diffusers were connected to one or two nozzles each, and they were installed on the boom at intervals of 60, 80, and 90 cm. Terminal airflow velocity at a canopy is determined by the height of a sprayer boom and the diffuser spacing, ranging from around 2 m s–1 to around 27 m s–1. The sprayer boom should be positioned at a height of 50 cm above a crop stand due to the difference between the minimum and maximum airflow velocities. The horizontal spray distribution was more uniform when the sprayer was equipped with hollow-cone nozzles instead of flat-fan nozzles; hollow-cone nozzles should be applied if the distance between nozzles needs to be adjusted to the row width and row spacing. The analyzed coefficients did not exceed 10% when the boom was positioned 50 cm above the crop stand and when the nozzles were spaced 80 cm apart, which suggests that, in this configuration, sprayers equipped with hollow-cone nozzles can also be applied to close-grown crops.

Optimization of a Boom Height Ultrasonic Detecting Model for the Whole Growth Cycle of Wheat: Affected by the Oscillation of the Three-Section Boom of the Sprayer

In the dynamic operation of a boom sprayer, the boom oscillation will cause the detection value of the boom height to fluctuate greatly, resulting in failures of the control system. Based on the previously developed static boom height detection model for the entire wheat growth cycle, this study aimed to optimize the model to reduce the impact of boom oscillation on the accuracy of boom height detection. Three ultrasonic sensors were installed on each section boom of a three-section boom sprayer, and dynamic boom height detection tests were conducted at vehicle speeds of 4 to 8 km/h across six growth stages of winter wheat in Beijing, a total detection area within a single fixed operational row of approximately 14 ha. The test results showed that as vehicle speed increased, boom oscillations intensified across all sections. By setting the boom oscillation correction parameters, the detecting value of each section of boom height is corrected. The results show that the fluctuation and deviation degree of the boom height-detecting value are obviously reduced, and the correction effect is obvious. Further analysis of the detecting value of the boom height after the correction shows that the previously established detection model still maintains high detection accuracy under dynamic conditions; that is, the detection position of the ultrasonic sensor does not downward shift. This paper provides a low-cost technical method that can be directly applied to the dynamic detection of boom height.

Modal test and finite element updating of sprayer boom truss

In addressing the finite element model and actual structural error of the sprayer boom truss, this study aims to achieve high-precision dynamic characteristics, enhance simulation credibility, make informed optimization decisions, and reduce testing costs. The research investigates the dynamic behavior of the sprayer boom truss through modal experiments and finite element simulations. Initially, modal parameters of the sprayer boom are obtained through experimental testing, validating their reasonableness and reliability. Subsequently, Ansys Workbench18.0 simulation software was employed to analyze the finite element model of the sprayer boom, revealing a maximum relative error of 11.93% compared to experimental results. To improve accuracy, a kriging-based response surface model was constructed, and multi-objective parameter adjustments using the MOGA algorithm reduce the maximum relative error to 4.6%. Sensitivity analysis further refines the model by optimizing target parameters, resulting in a maximum relative error of 4.96%. These findings demonstrate the effective enhancement of the corrected finite element model’s precision, with the response surface method outperforming sensitivity analysis the maximum relative error between the updated finite element model and experimental results was within the engineering allowable range, confirming the effectiveness of the updated model.

Empowering Vegetable Farmers: Energy Analysis and Evaluating the Impact of a Battery-operated Boom Sprayer

Empowering Vegetable Farmers: Energy Analysis and Evaluating the Impact of a Battery-operated Boom Sprayer

Analysis of test results of the P-20 multi-rotor UAV when spraying pesticides in precision agriculture

Abstract The article provides an overview of the current results of using multi-rotor UAVs when spraying pesticides in precision agriculture. It is noted that, as part of improving the technology for using UAVs, it is necessary to continue work on optimizing and testing the parameters of UAV transport and technological cycles together with a reasonable choice of special reagents and their combinations to improve the spraying effect and increase the level of use of pesticides. This will directly affect the improvement of the quality and efficiency of precision farming systems. The analysis presented in the work is based on testing the parameters of the transport and technological cycle of a multi-rotor UAV of the P-20 type, which was used to spray pesticides on cotton fields to combat aphids and spider mites on cotton at the flowering and boll setting stages. The results are considered that make it possible to analyze and compare the laws of uniform and penetrating deposition and drift of droplets in cotton canopies at different UAV flight altitudes. It has been shown that spraying small volumes of agrochemicals using UAVs at low altitudes differs from operations performed using modern manned aircraft or boom sprayers. The flight altitude of the UAV has a significant impact on the deposition and drift of droplets. The results of studies related to elucidating the effect of defoliant adsorption on cotton leaves are also noted. The adsorption of acetamiprid and spirodiclofen was studied. Methods for statistical processing of the obtained experimental data are presented, in particular, to test the significance of the influence of flight altitude on the experimental results.

Design and systematic evaluation of an under-canopy robotic spray system for row crops

Despite having made much improvement in sensing, automation, and control, the current broadcast spraying system has several drawbacks, such as uneven coverage, excessive chemical use, and deviation from recommended dosage. Typically, farmers use large self-propelled sprayers to spray the entire field without knowledge of spatial pest severity, potentially resulting in an unintentional application. However, application errors and the extent of chemical use can be optimized by utilizing an intelligent site-specific decision-based sprayer to control pests more efficiently. Hence, the initial project goal was to design a robotic liquid application system for row crops (e.g., sorghum and corn) and validate sprayer system performance. The critical design considerations for the spray application system were modularity; the ability to be mounted on an autonomous platform to go within 76.2-cm spaced crops; spray on either side of the crop row using spray booms; onboard hardware and software for control and data acquisition; and record as-applied data. A system with desired design requirements was built and individual sub-systems were tested under simulated lab scenarios to quantify the response time and accuracy of the spray system. The results showed that the sprayer could maintain an average system pressure within ±5% of the target under different duty cycles for each of the six nozzles. At 40% duty cycle, the nozzle pressure settling time at an error margin of ±5% from the mean was 13 ms, 20 ms, and 19 ms, for one, three, and six nozzles, respectively. Also, no substantial pressure difference was observed between nozzles installed at different heights in two different booms. Therefore, this application system could be a viable solution for autonomous platforms to site-specifically apply pesticides only on critically infested plants, has the potential to decrease the overall input costs on chemicals and reduce the negative environmental impacts.

Design of inductive electrostatic boom spray system based on embedded closed electrode structure and droplet distribution test in soybean field.

The large water demand, insufficient deposition on the back of the leaf and the uneven distribution of droplets are the problems of traditional agricultural ground plant protection machinery, which leads to low agricultural control efficiency. Combined with the advantages of electrostatic spray technology and the characteristics of high working efficiency and low probability of droplets drift of ground sprayer, an inductive electrostatic boom spray system based on embedded electrode structure is designed and mounted on a large self-propelled boom sprayer for field testing. Based on the working characteristics of the fan nozzle and the analysis of the theory of charge, the inductive electrostatic spray device is designed. The performance of the device is tested and the rationality of the system design is verified by COMSOL numerical simulations, charge-to-mass ratio, and particle size distribution measurements. The spray deposition scanning software and the Box-Behnken experimental design method are used to analyze the spray droplet deposition rate and coverage density of the sprayer on the front and back of the target leaves. The results show that the embedded closed electrode structure designed in this paper can avoid the problem of electrode wetting, and the electric field generated by it is mainly concentrated in the spray liquid film area, and the intensity reaches 6~7 V/m. At the conventional application height (500 mm), the maximum charge-to-mass ratio is 2.91 mC/kg, and the average particle size is 168.22 μm, which is 12.87% lower than that of ordinary spray, when the spray pressure is 0.3 MPa and the electrostatic voltage is 12 kV. The results of field experiments show that the optimum combination of the working parameters with the spray speed is 8.40 m/s, the spray pressure is 0.35 MPa, the charging voltage is 11.50 kV, the amount of droplet deposition in the lower dorsal area of the blade is 1.44 µL·cm-2. This study can provide a certain basis for the application of electrostatic spray technology in ground sprayers.

Effects of Magnetized, Chelated Iron Foliage Treatments, and Metal Halide Lamps on Plant Water Structure, Water Vapor Dynamics, and Resilience for Legumes under Water Stress

A greenhouse study was conducted to determine the effects of foliar applications of magnetized, chelated liquid iron fertilizer for increasing the drought tolerance of two legumes. The study objectives were to determine the drought tolerance effects of four treatments on foliar gas exchange, soil moisture, and plant growth for soybean (Glycine max) and velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens) plants. The plant treatments included applications with chelated liquid iron fertilizer (2.5 and 5%) with a conventional boom sprayer, with and without magnets in the spray lines, and metal halide lamps. Three gas exchange measurements were collected before applying the foliage treatments and after two water stress treatments. A foliage and metal halide lamp treatment deactivated or unlinked nine interconnected gas exchange parameters that are correlated with plant defense activities during water stress conditions. The deactivation of interconnected regulatory gas exchange functions improved metabolic efficiency, reduced stress levels, and boosted plant resilience to abiotic stressors. Also, the study findings suggest that the study treatments maintained or increased the level of biologically structured water in plant tissues and vascular systems.

喷杆倾角控制系统的设计与实验

During field operations of the spray boom sprayer, the distance between the ends of the spray boom and the height of the crop canopy affects the uniformity of spraying, requiring operators to manually adjust the spray boom to be parallel to the crop canopy, which impacts operational efficiency. This study presents the design of a boom tilt control system, consisting of a main control node, distance measurement node, vehicle tilt detection node, and spray boom tilt control node. The bus communication protocol for the spray boom tilt control system is defined according to the ISO11783 standard, and a serial communication network is designed, along with the development of a real-time dynamic monitoring interface for the spray boom. The system automatically monitors the height of the boom and the tilt of the vehicle, makes decisions based on the detection information, controls the electric actuator, and adjusts the tilt of the boom. Leveraging the advantages of fast computing speed and user-friendly human-machine interface of the PC, as well as the high cost-effectiveness and small size of the microcontroller, and the multi-master-slave structure of the CAN bus, this system can complete data acquisition, processing, and other functions required for spray boom tilt control, achieving automatic adjustment of spray boom tilt. This enhances spray uniformity and operational efficiency of the sprayer, while reducing the workload of operators.

摆式主被动悬架喷雾机喷杆稳定性试验研究

When a sprayer is operating in the field, the uneven ground excitation causes the spray boom to move irregularly, significantly affecting the spray distribution uniformity and reducing the effectiveness of pesticide application. Installing a suspension between the vehicle and the boom is a crucial method to improve the boom stability. In this paper, experimental research on the stability of a boom with an active and passive pendulum suspension was carried out. The results of the transient response test of the passive suspension demonstrate that an increase in the suspension rotation damping coefficient reduces the overshoot of the system but slows down the response speed. Conversely, an increase in the suspension rotation stiffness coefficient speeds up the response speed. The results of the dynamic response test of the active suspension indicate that a smaller adjustment threshold of the control system for the boom inclination angle results in higher control accuracy. However, when the threshold is less than 1cm, the boom becomes challenging to balance. The results of the combination experiments based on the response surface method reveal that the rotation stiffness coefficient, rotation damping coefficient, unit forward speed, and their interactions significantly impact the adjustment time of the boom and the variation coefficient of the boom inclination angle. Through contribution rate analysis, the influence order of each factor on the adjustment time and variation coefficient was obtained. Additionally, the analysis of variance results show that the established regression model fits the actual situation well, and has reference significance for the design and application of the suspension.

Optimization of Parameters of Adaptive Spray System for Agricultural Sprayer

Introduction. When growing tall-growth crops (cereal crops in late the phases of development, corn, sunflower, etc.), there are used boom sprayers equipped with twin-fluid spray cones with fixed angles of inclination to the vertical of the spray cones. The working fluid is applied with such sprays are more intensively on the front side of the plant leaves while the intensity of covering the plants from the back side with the working fluid decreases. The development of the spray system will allow improving the quality of crop treatment with boom sprayers. Aim of the Study. The aim of the research is to determine experimentally the algorithm for changing the angles of inclination of a twin-fluid spray cone that provides the same intensity of applying working liquid to the leaves of high-growth plants. Materials and Methods. The research was carried out on a test bench by applying colored water to the front and rear sides of a tall-growth plant model moving at a specified speed. The experiment was carried out according to the method of optimal planning. The difference between the content of droplets on the front and rear sides of the tall-growth plant model was taken as an optimization parameter. Variable factors were the spray cone inclination angles and the operating speed of the sprayer. Results. The algorithm for changing the optimum values of the spray cone inclination angles depending on the sprayer speed was determined based on the equality of the first derivative of the optimization to zero parameter by the value of these angles. Discussion and Conclusion. According to the algorithm, when the sprayer operating speed increases from 1.2 to 3.2 m/s, the optimal angle of inclination to the front spray cone vertical changes linearly from 25 to 21 degrees, and the rear one ‒ from 46.7 to 57 degrees. This algorithm will allow justifying the technical specifications to develop a processor for automatic control of the spray cone inclination angles cones when the sprayer is operating.

GNSS Guidance in Mulching-based Cultivation of Black Soybean ‘Tanbaguro’ and Partial Application of Herbicide to Furrows Using a Boom Sprayer

GNSS Guidance in Mulching-based Cultivation of Black Soybean ‘Tanbaguro’ and Partial Application of Herbicide to Furrows Using a Boom Sprayer

Justification of range limits of root spray angle of an adaptive spraying device

BACKGROUND: Oscillations of the sprayer field boom in the transverse-vertical plane causes a decrease in the quality of the technological operation. This is especially true in relation to the operation of small-sized single-support barrow-type sprayers. One of the possible solutions to compensate the effect of transverse oscillations of the boom on the quality of spraying is the use of adaptive sprayers with a variable root angle of the spray jet, responding to the position taken by the sprayer in relation to the surface being treated. AIM: Justification of the necessary limits for changing the spray angles of an adaptive sprayer for a single-support spraying device. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that insufficient attention is paid to the implementation of technologies using means of small-scale mechanization, unlike industrial agricultural machinery. METHODS: A prototype of a single-support boom motor sprayer was used as the study object. The field experiment was carried out at the experimental area of the Oryol State Agrarian University. Data acquisition on the deviation of the sprayer from the vertical axis was carried out using a specially developed angle gauge. A spreadsheet processor in the Microsoft Excel environment was used to perform mathematical processing of the decrypted experimental data. The study of the obtained analytical dependencies was carried out in the environment of the Mathcad 14.0 mathematical calculation system. RESULTS: It has been experimentally found that the maximum deviations of the sprayer from the vertical can be up to 30° during operation. At the same time, the average amplitude of the transverse operating oscillations of the boom of a single-support barrow-type boom sprayer ranges from +11° to -18°. The amplitude of the transverse oscillations of a single-support sprayer depends on the operator’s skills and the unit motion velocity. Balancing the sprayer is important due to the moment of force caused by the weight of the one-sided field boom. A formula for calculation of the spray width of one sprayer, taking into account the geometric parameters of a single-support sprayer, as well as its inclination angle in the transverse-vertical plane, has been derived. An analytical relationship that makes it possible to calculate the required limits of the root angle of the spray jet of an adaptive sprayer, taking into account the installation distance of the sprayer relative to the vertical plane passing through the support point of the sprayer, has been obtained. The values of the root spray angles for the deflectors of adaptive sprayers, with the sprayer oscillations amplitude from -18° to +11° in the transverse-vertical plane, were found. CONCLUSIONS: The practical value of the study lies in the potential of using the formula to determine the range limits of root spray angles when designing and developing adaptive sprayers.