Positioning System of Working Bodies in Differential Spraying of Plants

Abstract

The paper highlights that the escalation in the use of pesticides and agrochemicals poses a significant risk to human health, environmental integrity, and food safety. The predominant method of pesticide application is crop spraying. Improved efficiency and quality of spraying, coupled with a reduction in drug costs, can be achieved by transitioning to differential treatment of agricultural land and precision dose regulation. The incorporation of robotic devices offers a promising solution to facilitate the process of plant protection. (Research purpose) The research aims to develop a positioning system for a robotic differential spraying device. (Materials and methods) were subjected to chemical treatment by an autonomous field robot, and the quality of spraying was assessed using a nozzle. (Results and discussion) The research established a relationship between calculating the nozzle capture angle of an individual plant and the angle of lever lift. Subsequently, a computerized spraying model was developed, enabling the adjustment of various parameters and benchmarking the proposed differential spraying method against the traditional one. The variation coefficient, reflecting the uniformity of droplet distribution on the plant surface, was calculated. The results indicate that the variation coefficient is dependent on the speed and distance of spraying in different operating modes, including individual plant spraying and row spraying. (Conclusions) The variation coefficient for the traditional spray method was 46 percent. With the adoption of differential spraying methods, this variation coefficient decreased to 25-28 percent for individual plant spraying and 33-40 percent for row spraying. Field studies further demonstrated a variation coefficient of 19-24 percent for individual plant spraying in contrast to 30-35 percent for row-spray treatments.