IIT-Kgp develops efficient sprayer for farmlands
It can be easily operated in the field using solar energy with a maximum speed of 2 km/h and can cover a width of 1.5 metres at a time with a field efficiency of 81 per cent, thus saving time, human involvement and chemicals
image for illustrative purpose
Kolkata: AN energy efficient pest controlling device for smaller agricultural tracts is the need of the hour, especially for marginal farmers. And now a team of researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT-Kgp) has developed a self-propelled boom-type sprayer that can be operated using solar energy while safely guided through the crops in smaller tracts of land.
The device is aimed at increasing field capacity and uniformity in liquid spraying and also reducing drudgery to the operator and dependency on fossil fuel for carrying out spraying in cropped areas, IIT KGP officials said.
Interestingly, nearly 82 per cent of the farming community is categorized as small or marginal as per FAO with landholding less than 2 hectares. With the view to improving the condition of small and marginal farmers and to double the income of farmers by 2022, Government is realigning its interventions from a production-centric approach to farmers' income-centric initiatives, with a focus on better and new technological solutions.
"As compared to conventional knapsack sprayers, the IIT-developed sprayer has a higher field capacity and more uniformity of spraying with less drudgery to the operator. It can be easily operated in the field using solar energy with a maximum speed of 2 km/h and can cover a width of 1.5 metres at a time with a field efficiency of 81 per cent, thus saving time, human involvement and chemicals," said Prof Hifjur Raheman.
The researchers have already filed a patent for the product and the product is ready for commercialization.
Significantly, the semi-automated device, developed by Prof Raheman, Anup Behera, Rahul K and Prof. PBS. Bhadoria from the Dept. of Agricultural and Food Engineering at IIT Kharagpur, will address several challenges of mechanized pest control system in the small farm sector.
The system comprises a propelling unit fitted with a liquid storage tank, a DC motor operated pump to pressurize the liquid to be sprayed. Multiple numbers of spray nozzles are mounted on a boom fitted to the front of the machine to cover greater width at a time.
A set of solar-powered battery acts as the power source of the DC motor to propel the spraying unit as well as for running the pump. Unlike a knapsack sprayer, the liquid storage tank is of bigger capacity and it is carried on a solar-powered three-wheeler trolley.
