Mathur, RaviGholap, Babasaheb Sukhadeo2017-06-202017-06-202011Gholap and Mathur, 2011http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810022015Design development and performance evaluation of tractor mounted hydraulic boom sprayer for cotton cropCotton farming is a popular agribusiness in India. It is one of the principal commercial crops in India with 11 million ha cultivated area which is largest in the world. India is second largest producer of cotton in the world though the yield is only 300 kg/ha as against the world average of 558 kg/ha, due to poor control of insect pest and dry land farming conditions. A major reason for such a pesticide loss is use of inefficient spraying machines, which are unable to maintain specified nozzle pressure, nozzle discharge, nozzle height that affects spray pattern, droplet size, spray uniformity etc. The principle of working of the tractor mounted boom sprayer is to move the spray liquid to the individual nozzles along the boom. The pump is driven by the PTO shaft of the tractor and the sprayer unit sucks the chemical and discharges it through the spray boom or through the discharge line consisting of a delivery hose and spray guns. A 12-m tractor mounted boom sprayer was modified and developed considering the various deficiencies in the components of the existing boom sprayer. In order to develop new hydraulic boom sprayer, initially the performance of the existing boom sprayer was evaluated. The modifications were done in the some component of the boom sprayer for structural stability and new folding arrangement. The developed boom sprayer was tested in a laboratory in terms of liquid distribution, droplet size, droplet density and uniformity coefficient for four levels of nozzle discharge (0.45, 0.70, 0.90 and 1.35 l/min) and nozzle pressure (278.5, 413.7, 551.6 and 689.5 kPa). The deposition of droplet was taken at top, middle and bottom position of the plant and on upper and lower leaf surface. More liquid distribution was observed within ±20 per cent of the total mean value. Droplet size (VMD) ranged from 155.44 to 181.55 µm, droplet density (DD) from 17 to 29 drops/cm2 and uniformity coefficient (UC) from 0.99 to 1.23 for the developed boom sprayer at nozzle discharge rate 0.90 l/min and nozzle pressure 689.5 kPa. Further uniform distribution obtained for entire 12 m length of boom. These were close to recommended values for effective pest control on crops.ennullThesis