Safety aspects in greenhouse spraying causes and preventive measures

Abstract

Ensuring operator safety is an important concern in the application of plant protection chemicals under greenhouse operating conditions. Plant protection chemicals under the greenhouse can be applied by a variety of means, including traditional (lever-operated and battery-powered knapsack sprayers), walk-behind type and riding-type vertical boom sprayers. Among these, traditional
sprayers are the most common means of pesticide application due to easy availability, wide applicability and cost-effectiveness. These sprayers in greenhouse working environments (high temperature and relative humidity), improper ventilation, dense crop geometry and working at heights pose higher chemical risks (potential dermal and inhalation exposure). It causes health hazards such as skin irritation and difficulty in breathing which can impact the worker's life. To reduce and mitigate dermal and inhalation exposure, proper care needs to be taken in terms of equipment, personal protection and application techniques to reduce exposure and increase safety
of the operator. These interventions can reduce significant exposure and improve the efficiency of the working environment without adopting or investing in any technological interventions. Further, the adoption of robotic technology for spraying in the greenhouse will eliminate the human interface and significantly improve yield quality and quantity of produce.