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Design and Development of a Low Cost Boom Sprayer for Fruit Tree and Field Crops (2015-2016)

Md. Israil Hossain
Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur-1701

M G Shaha
Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur-1701

M. Sumon Miah
Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur-1701

M. Gulandaz
Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur-1701

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

A low-cost robust power-operated boom sprayer has been developed in the Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division of BARI Gazipur and all set up installed on a tri-cycle van. Presently, farmers are interested in horticultural crops for high value, comparatively low risk, less hazard, and easy marketing of product compare to field crops. Crop yields are reduced mainly due to the invasion of pests, diseases and weeds. The developed boom sprayer consists of a small diesel engine, high-pressure pump, pesticide tank, boom with nozzle, and tri-cycle. The chemicals are sprayed as the most effective and efficient techniques for applying small volumes of spray liquid to protect horticultural crops. The boom sprayer was tested for spraying pesticides in fruit trees to produce a uniform effective spray pattern using the minimum amount of spray materials. The spray boom has a hollow nozzle and can spray in a tall tree. The effective field capacity of the sprayer was 0.3 ha/hr. The field performance of the boom sprayer was found satisfactory at a pressure of 3 bars. The average spray capacity 2.85 lit/min at 3 bar pressure. The power requirement about 4 Hp for operating the pump. The operating cost of the garden boom sprayer was Tk. 595/day and the foot sprayer was Tk.1029/day, respectively. The entire boom assembly fixed on a rickshaw van behind the operator seat. It is safe in adverse wind conditions. To facilitate convenience operation for the operator, the design of the entire controls provided near the operator. A transparent plastic tank was provided for a clear view of pesticide status in the tank.

Keywords: Power boom sprayer, Horticultural crops Tri-cycle van, Boom sprayer, Pump sprayer

Location: Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Bangladesh

Start Date: 00-00-2015

End Date: 00-00-2016

Program Area: Farm Mechanization

Commodity: Sprayer, Tree

Objectives:

Objectives:

To develop a power boom sprayer for horticultural crops and set up on a tri-cycle van
To test and evaluate the performance of boom sprayer for horticultural crops
To compare the cost of operation with a manual foot pump sprayer

Methodology:

Description of boom sprayer: A robust power boom sprayer was fabricated in the Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI). The sprayer consisted of a small diesel engine, pesticide tank, spray pump, spray boom, tank support wheel with tread adjustments. The chemical tank is a plastic tank of 150 lit. capacity. The tanks were placed on a common tri-cycle rickshaw van. All components of the boom sprayer were set up on the van. This facility the bracket to move in both the vertical and horizontal plane. Square size 500 x 25 x 6 mm were bent and bolted to the mainframe so that it secured the tank without any slippage. The tank was interconnected using 40mm PVC pipes and attached to the inlet of the spray pump. A hole of 110 mm diameter was drilled on the pesticide tanks and fixed with PVC male threaded adapter and capped for easy filling of pesticide. A diesel-operated sealed pump was attached with a special frame of the trailer for a high volume sprayer with a hollow cone nozzle having a field application rate of 2.9-3.9 lit/min. For design purposes, the maximum application rate was taken as 3.5 lit/min. The pump, engine, strainer, pressure gauge was fitted near the seat of the operator and the dial gauge of pressure easily visible to the operator. Power to the pump was taken from the diesel engine. A 40 mm diameter flexible hose was used as suction to transmit the spray liquid from the tank to the pump. On the discharge side the hose was provided as a by-pass with a control valve to drain off the excess pesticide back to the tank. A pressure gauge of 0-5 bar was mounted after the by-pass to monitor the pressure in the nozzle. The boom length was chosen on either side of the two-wheel tractor. The nozzles were mounted on a flexible hose of 6 mm internal diameter and were clamped to a rigid pipe. The spacing between nozzles on the boom can be adjusted by means of adjusting the clamps. The boom was attached on a tri cycle. The boom was tied using a stay chain to the vertical frame to keep them in position while spraying. Provision was also made to fold the spray boom while in transport. The spraying system requires stability for better maneuverability in the field. Adding 150 lit capacity pesticide tank, on the backside of the operator, just like a trolley for transportation. Therefore, double pneumatic support wheels with the provision of tread adjustments were provided to increase or decrease the tread width in alignment with that of tractor wheels. A telescopic arrangement to increase or decrease the horizontal width was provided by inserting two square sections of size 270 x 50 x 50 mm made of angle iron of size 50 x 50 x 6 mm on each side. Two angle bars with different holes were placed backside of the pesticide tank supporting the booms. There are adjustments for high and low spray height with an interval of 25mm. The support wheels were attached to the telescopic sections through flange plates of size 175 x100 x 6 mm. The flange facilitated fixing the wheel mounting in such a way that the wheels could be oriented outwards or inwards with respect to the support frame. The boom sprayer was tested for pesticide applying in the mango tree of Dinajpur and Gazipur. Data were collected (i) flow rate of the nozzle (ii) travel speed of the sprayer (iii) spray pressure (iv) area coverage per unit time (v) cost of operation.

Calibration of boom sprayer: Tricycle-operated boom sprayer is calibrated to understand and fix up the application rate of pesticide for maximum benefit. It is calibrated in an open floor of FMPE BARI Gazipur. Fresh water is used to measure the discharge rate of the nozzle. Varying the spraying pressure, delivered water from each nozzle collected in a container and record the time by a stopwatch. It is repeated varying pressure until the desired rate occurred.

Calculate target discharge rate: The following formula calculates the number of gallons per minute (GPM) that must be delivered by boom sprayer nozzles for the application rate to be corrected. GPM = (GPA X MPH X W) / 5940. Where, GPA = Gallons per acre from product label; MPH = Sprayer speed, in miles per hour; W = Spacing of nozzle on the boom, in inches.

Source of Information: Annual Research Report 2015-2016, Farm Machinery & Postharvest Process Engineering Division Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur-1701

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Based on the results and performance observation of the tricycle power boom sprayer, the following conclusions can be made-

The boom sprayer can be used for mango and litchi tree. The effective capacity of the sprayer was 0.3 ha/hr for a mango garden.
The performance of the tricycle boom sprayer was satisfactory as a pressure of 3 bars and can be adopted by the farmers for spraying fruit tree as it saves the cost and time of operation.
The operating cost of garden boom sprayer was Tk. 595/day and foot sprayer was Tk.1029/day, respectively.
Boom sprayer is safe to handle chemical where health hazard and risk is considerable issue.

Knowledge Management: Report/Proceedings