Development and Optimization of Operational Parameters for Tractor-Operated Boom Sprayer for Field Crops

Abstract

Spraying is a crucial practice in agriculture, especially for the application of chemical pesticides that play a vital role in protecting crops. However, there has been a worrisome rise in the annual consumption of pesticides, leading to significant concerns. The excessive use of these pesticides has resulted in substantial wastage, which is a cause for alarm. To address these issues and enhance the efficiency of pesticide application, a tractor-operated boom sprayer was developed to ensure effective spraying. The study focused on evaluating and optimizing three operational factors: spacing between nozzles (30, 40, 50 cm), spray boom height (80, 90, 100 cm), and pressure (17.5, 21.0, 24.5 kg.cm-2). A factorial Completely Randomized Design (CRD) approach was employed, 81 experiments were conducted and data were analyzed statistically by using the SPSS software package to investigate the effect of operational parameters on the performance of the sprayer. The results revealed that the operational parameters were significantly influencing the swath width and percent of overlap during spraying. The optimum combination of operational parameters was obtained using the R-software, the optimum combination for obtaining maximum swath width and minimum overlap is spacing between nozzles at 50 cm, spray boom height at 90 cm, and operating pressure at 24.5 kg.cm-2. The swath width and overlap at optimum combination were 7.77m and 43.12%, respectively. Implementing this optimal combination significantly improved the performance of the spraying activity, ensuring better coverage.