Wetting and deposition characteristics of air-assisted spray droplet on large broad-leaved crop canopy

Abstract

Precision and efficient pesticide spraying is an important part of precision agriculture, banana is a large broad-leaved plant, with pests and diseases, has a high demand for spraying and pest control. The purpose of this study was to clarify the wettability of different pesticides on the banana leaf surface, and the effects of nozzle type and working parameters on the deposition distribution performance under air-assisted spray conditions. The wettability test results of different pesticides on banana leaf surfaces showed that the wettability of the adaxial side was always stronger than that of the abaxial side, the smaller the surface tension of the droplets, the better the wettability on the surface. The spray experiment was carried out on the previously developed air-assisted sprayer with the latest developed intelligent variable spray control system. Three types of nozzles were used to spray with different combinations of working parameters. The deposition distribution performance on the banana leaf surface was obtained by image processing using a self-compiled program. The experimental results show that the nozzle type, wind speed, and spray pressure have significant effects on the deposition distribution performance. Through the study of the interaction and coupling effect of nozzle type and working parameters on the spray droplet deposition distribution on both sides of banana leaves, the results show that under the conditions of hollow cone nozzle, 0.5Mpa spray pressure and 3-5 m/s wind speed, the spray coverage and droplet density are in the optimal state. This is mainly due to the low spray pressure and/or wind speed is not enough to make the banana leaves vibrate and improve the performance of pesticide deposition. excessive spray pressure and/or wind speed will cause large deformation of banana leaves and make them airfoil stable, which reduces the surface deposition performance. It is of great significance for promoting sustainable and intelligent phytoprotection.