Development of solar powered knapsack sprayer

J P SINHA; J K SINGH; ADARSH KUMAR; K N AGARWAL

doi:10.56093/ijas.v88i4.79122

Authors

J P SINHA Principal Scientist, Farm Operation and Service Unit, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi
J K SINGH Principal Scientist, Division of Agricultural Engineering, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi
ADARSH KUMAR Principal Scientist, Division of Agricultural Engineering, ICAR Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi
K N AGARWAL Project Coordinatorand Principal Scientist, AICRP on Ergonomics and Safety in Agriculture, ICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal

https://doi.org/10.56093/ijas.v88i4.79122

Keywords:

Ergonomics, Knapsack sprayer, Small farmers, Solar power

Abstract

The small and marginal farmers in India are 83% with land holding of 46.1% and contribution of 51.2% in the production. On Indian farms, knapsack sprayers are very commonly used by small and marginal farmers for pest control because of affordability and ease of operation but with lower outputs. An attempt was made to develop a solar powered sprayer which had higher output (0.3 ha/hr) with lower physiological energy consumption and discomfort. An electronic control had been embedded for protection against deep discharge and over charging of battery for longer operational life. The system could be fully charged by solar energy within two hours of irradiation and can be operated continuously for six hours.This ensures quality spray with uniform droplet size in the swath. Anti-clogging filter had also been installed before the nozzle in nozzle head for trouble free operation as well as longer service life of nozzle.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Chand Ramesh, Prasanna P A, Lakshmi and Singh Aruna. 2011. Farm size and productivity: understanding the strengths of smallholders, and improving their livelihoods. Economic and Political Weekly 26: 5–11.

Anonymous. 2016. Agricultural Statistics at a Glance 2016. Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.

Lipton M. 2006. Can Small farmers survive, prosper, or be the key channel to cut mass poverty. Journal of Agricultural and Development Economics 3(1): 58–5.

Mittal V K, Bhatia B S and Ahuja S S. 1996. A study of the magnitude, causes and profile of victims of accidents with selected farm machinery in Punjab. Final Report of ICAR Adhoc Research Project, Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

Bawa H S and Kaul R N. 1974. Some studies on vibration of a Knapsack power sprayer effecting operator comfort. Journal of Agricultural Engineering 11(1): 34–7.

Gupta P K. 1979. ‘Human body response to vibrations induced by an experimental power knapsack equipment’. M Tech thesis, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

FAO. 1994. Pesticide application equipment use in agriculture. Manually Carried Equipment, Vol 1. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome.

FAO. 1998. Agriculture pesticides sprayers. FAO Technical Standards: Sprayer Specifications and Test Procedures, pp 7-8.

RNAM. 1995. Regional network for agricultural machinery. RNAM Test Codes and Procedures for Farm Machinery, pp 171.

Miller A and Bellinder R. 2001. Herbicide application using a knapsack sprayer. Rice-Wheat Consortium for the Indo- Gangetic Plains, New Delhi, p 12.

Awulu J O and Sohotshan P Y. 2012. Evaluation of a developed electrically operated knapsack sprayer. International Journal of Science and Technology 2(11): 769–72.

Nag, Pranab Kumar and Nag Anjali. 2004. Drudgery, accidents and injuries in Indian agriculture. Industrial Health 42: 149–62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.42.149

Ghugare B, Adhaoo S H, Gite L P, Pandya A C and Patel S L. 1991. Ergonomics evaluation of a lever-operated knapsack sprayer. Applied Ergonomics 22(4): 241–50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-6870(91)90227-9

Tamilselvi P and Anantha Krishnan D .2016. Ergonomic evaluation of conventional agricultural sprayers with respect to human performance. Agriculture Science Digest 36(3): 179–84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18805/asd.v36i3.11443

Pravin K, Bhuse, Ravindra and Vyavahare T. 2014. Ergonomic evaluation of knapsack sprayer used in agricultural application. International Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research 5(12): 903–7.

Khan A S, Rafiq R, Nadeem A and A Hameed. 1997. Application technology for agro-chemicals in Pakistan. (In) Proceedings of the International Workshop on Safe and Efficient Application of Agro-chemicals and Bio-products in South and Southeast Asia, Bangkok, Thailand, pp 79-101.

Seidel H, Bastek R, Brauer D, Buchholz C H, Meister A, Metz A M and Rothe R. 1980. On human response to prolonged repeated whole body vibration. Ergonomics 23(30): 191–211. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00140138008924734

Astrand P O, Ekblon B, Messin R, Stallin B and Stenberg J. 1965. Intra-arterial blood pressure during exercise with different muscle group. Journal of Applied Physiology 20: 253–6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1152/jappl.1965.20.2.253

Astrand P and Rodahl K. 1986. Text book of work physiology: physiological bases of exercise, IIIrd edition, pp 669-674. McGraw Hill Book Co., New York.

Corlett E N and Bishop R P. 1976. A technique for assessing postural discomfort. Ergonomics 19(2): 175–82. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00140137608931530

BIS. 1982. Specification for hand operated knapsack sprayer – piston type. IS –3906 (Part- I). Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.

Matthews G A and Thornhill E. 1989. Sprayer testing at Britain’s JPARC, Portable spraying machinery 1988-89. Imperial College of silwood Park Ascot, UK.

Garg C L. 1990. Standardization and performance evaluation of agricultural sprayers. Proceedings of Conference on Pest Control Equipment, Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal.

Hou S J, Onishi, Yoichiro Minami S, Ikeda H, Sugawara M and Kozawa A. 2005. Charging and discharging method of lead acid batteries based on internal voltage control. Journal of Asian Vehicles 3(1): 733–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4130/jaev.3.733