Design and implementation of a petrol engine-driven boom sprayer for precision agriculture in field crop management

Abstract

The development of a petrol engine-driven boom sprayer involved meticulous design and fabrication processes at the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) in Jashore. Gradual refinements occurred 2020-2023 at the Farm Machinery and Postharvest Process Engineering (FMPE) Division of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) in Gazipur. Notable improvements included integrating a precision spray pump, replacing the conventional front wheel-based pumping mechanism with a reciprocating action assembly. Appropriate laboratory and field testing adhered to standardized protocols, with controlled dry runs conducted over a 12-meter path at a consistent forward velocity of 2.6 km/h. Performance evaluations revealed substantial achievements: an effective swath width of 2.9 meters, theoretical field capacity of 0.8 ha/h, effective field capacity of 0.7 ha/h, and an operational efficiency rating of 93%. These results significantly surpassed comparative assessments against both manually operated electric rechargeable knapsack and manual knapsack sprayers. Successive field trials, spanning the 2022-2023 growing seasons, employed a randomized complete block design (RCBD) framework, featuring four treatment regimens (T1=Boom Sprayer, T2=Electric Knapsack Sprayer, T3=Manual Knapsack Sprayer, T4=Control) with three replicates each. Precision full cone nozzles were utilized for experimental applications of the herbicide "Affinity 50.75 WP" on Barley (BARI Barley 6 variety) crops. While no statistically significant deviations in yield outcomes were observed, a marked reduction in application time and pronounced suppression of weed proliferation underscored the superior efficacy of the engineered boom sprayer system.