Development and evaluation of a remotely controlled and monitored self-propelled sprayer in tomato crops

The tomato is one of the main crops in Brazil. In large-scale cultivation, pesticides are applied to the plant to prevent the direct or indirect action of animal or vegetable life, aiming at higher productivity and better quality fruit. However, the products, if used incorrectly, may affect the heal...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Ciência agronômica Vol. 50; no. 1; pp. 8 - 17
Main Authors:	Penido, Édilus de Carvalho Castro, Teixeira, Mauri Martins, Fernandes, Haroldo Carlos, Monteiro, Paulo Barros, Cecon, Paulo Roberto
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Fortaleza Universidade Federal do Ceará, Centro de Ciências Agrárias 01-01-2019 Universidade Federal do Ceará
Subjects:	Agricultural equipment Agrochemicals AGRONOMY Coefficient of variation Coverage Crops Cultivation Occupational health Organic chemistry Pesticides Prototypes Radio signals Remote control Remote monitoring Remote sensors Self-propelled agricultural machinery Signal monitoring Spraying Spraying evaluation Spraying technology Spraying tomato crops Sprays Teleoperation of tractors Tomatoes Weight Workers Self-propelled agricultural machinery Spraying tomato crops Pulverização em lavouras de tomate Spraying evaluation Tele-operação de tratores Tecnologia de pulverização Máquinas agrícolas autopropelidas Teleoperation of tractors Spraying technology Avaliação da pulverização
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Summary:	The tomato is one of the main crops in Brazil. In large-scale cultivation, pesticides are applied to the plant to prevent the direct or indirect action of animal or vegetable life, aiming at higher productivity and better quality fruit. However, the products, if used incorrectly, may affect the health of workers involved in the activity. A prototype of a self-propelled sprayer, remotely controlled and monitored via radio signals, was therefore developed to be used in tomato crops, thus minimising worker contact with the chemical substances used when spraying. The basic prototype comprises an agricultural mini-tractor, a motorised pneumatic sprayer (atomiser) and a set of electronic and mechanical sensors and actuators, which allow the assembly to be controlled remotely and images captured by a video camera to be viewed on a tablet. After development, the principal dimension, weight and operational characteristics of the prototype were identified; the prototype was also used for spraying ten tomato plants in the crop, with seven different points being observed for each plant. The results were analysed statistically, giving the following coefficients of variation: 15.13% for spray coverage, 18.70% for droplet density and 16.68% for product deposition on the folioles. Based on these values, it was concluded that the development of a remotely controlled and monitored self-propelled sprayer prototype, and its use in spraying tomato crops, were viable.
ISSN:	1806-6690 0045-6888 1806-6690
DOI:	10.5935/1806-6690.20190002