Performance Evaluation of Manually Operated Mulch Laying Machine on Different Soil Conditions

A machine with manual operation for mulch-laying machine with a punching arrangement was developed,and its performance was assessed at three different mulch paper thicknesses(15 m,20 m and 25 m),three different disc angles(35 degrees,40 degrees,and 45 degrees),three different punch spacings(250 mm,500 mm,and 1000 mm),and three different forward speeds(1.3 km/h,1.5 km/h,1.7 km/h)to investigate their effects on field capacity,effective field efficiency,and punching efficiency.Utilizing randomised block design and response surface methods,the experimental plan for optimization was created.All of the independent variables’combined effects on the dependent variables were found to be statistically significant.The influence of operating speed and mulch paper thickness was found to be the most significant on the dependent variable.The effective field capacity and field efficiency increased from 0.11 ha/h to 0.19 ha/h and 72.04 percent to 89.51 percent,respectively,by increasing mulch paper thickness from 15μm to 25μm and operating speed from 1.3 km/h to 1.7 km/h,whereas punching efficiency fell from 85.18 percent to 84.40 percent.Mulch paper of 15μm and a disc angle value of 40 degrees were optimised from the independent factors that were chosen for optimal soil covering over the laid plastic mulch sheet.Punching efficiency was maximised with performance optimised at 500 mm punch spacing.Additionally,the machine operated more efficiently at 1.5 km/h.

Downwash airflow distribution pattern of hexa-copter unmanned aerial vehicles

In recent times,the use of vertical take-off and landing(VTOL)multi-rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAVs)for spraying chemical pesticides against weeds and pests has recently become popular.The current aerial spray application research is primarily focused on examining the influence of UAV spraying parameters such as flight height,travel speed,rotor configuration,droplet size,payload and wind velocity.The downwash airflow velocity generated by the UAV rotor propeller has a significant impact on the droplet deposition process.A test rig was developed to measure the downwash airflow pattern generated by the rotor propeller of a UAV.In this investigation,a six-rotor electric autonomous UAV sprayer was used to investigate the parameters and distribution laws of downwash airflow velocity.The downwash airflow velocity was measured using portable anemometers mounted on the test rig at radial positions viz.,0 m,0.5 m,1 m,1.5 m and 2 m,perpendicular to(X)and parallel to the UAV’s flight direction(Y).The experiment was conducted at three levels of hover height,viz.,1 m,2 m and 3 m(Z)and three levels of payload,viz.,0 kg,5 kg,and 10 kg.The special downwash airflow distribution pattern was analysed using the Python programming language(Version 3.7).Results show that the downwash airflow velocity generated by the radial position of the UAV rotor is evenly distributed on the rotating loop and the standard deviation of the downwash airflow velocity is less than 0.5 m/s.The maximum downwash airflow velocity of 13.8 m/s was observed below the rotor at 10 kg payload capacity,1 m hover height(Z),and 0.5 m in the X-direction.The minimum downwash wind field of 0.3 m/s was observed at 0 kg pay load capacity,1 m height,and 2 m in the X-direction.The downwash airflow velocity along each position in the radial direction of the rotor increases initially and then decreases.This downwash airflow distribution results helps in mounting of spray nozzle configuration to drone sprayer which helps to understanding spray liquid distribution and other spray operational parameters.The influence of downwash airflow distribution combined with the spray operational parameters of the UAV sprayer viz.,flight height,travel speed,rotor configuration,payload and wind velocity on spray volume distribution was studied.A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of UAV sprayer downwash airflow distribution on spray droplet deposition characteristics in a rice crop compared with manual knapsack sprayer.

Air flow characteristics of an air-assisted sprayer through horizontal crop canopy

Artificially induced air currents or air-assistance to droplet spectrum produced by hydraulic nozzles not only facilitate in transporting and depositing the droplets in different parts of canopy but also reduce the application rate of chemicals.The air streams increase the velocity of smaller droplets so that extra momentum would increase impaction and improve penetration into the crop as well as mitigating the influence of wind on drift.It is necessary to quantify the airflow characteristics.But,control of climatic and other conditions in the field is very difficult.Thus,airflow characteristics study was done under controlled conditions on a horizontal simulated crop canopy.Based on this study,an airflow distribution model was developed and airflow characteristics for vegetable crops,namely,eggplant,chilli and bittergourd were predicted.The differences between predicted and actual field study values were not statistically significant.Kinetic energy of air stream dissipated with its movement from top to bottom of the canopy.The rate of kinetic energy dissipation was higher in denser canopies.Higher air velocity 15 m/s was the best as it produced maximum turbulence throughout the canopy.

Variable rate fertilizer application technology for nutrient management:A review

The efficient and effective application of fertilizers to crops is a major challenge.Conventionally,constant rate or equal dose of fertilizer is applied to each plant.Constant rate fertilizer application across entire field can result in over or under incorporation of nutrients.Fertilizer application is influenced by soil parameters as well as geographical variation in the field.The nutrient management depends on selection of nutrient,application rate and placement of nutrient at the optimal distance from the crop and soil depth.Variable rate technology(VRT)is an input application technology that allows for the application of inputs at a certain rate,time,and place based on soil properties and spatial variation in the field or plants.There are two approaches for implementing VRT,one is sensor based and another is map based.The sensor based approach;with suitable sensors,measures the soil and crop characteristics on-the-go calculating the amount of nutrients required per unit area/plant and micro controlling unit which uses suitable algorithms for controlling the flow of fertilizer with required amount of nutrient.In map based approach;Grid sampling and soil analysis are used to create a prescription map.According to the soil and crop conditions,the microcontroller regulates the desired application rate.The sensor-based VRT system includes a fertilizer tank,sensors,GPS,microcontroller,actuators,and other components,whereas the map-based system does not require an on-the-go sensor.Both approaches of VRT for fertilizer application in orchards and field crops are reviewed in this paper.The use of this advance technology surely increases the fertilizer use efficiency;improve crop yield and profitability with reduced environment impacts.