With the development of transgenic crops resistant to auxin herbicides will come an increase in the use of these herbicides for weed control. This new technology will greatly aid growers that have glyphosate-resistant weeds such as Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S. Wats) in their fields. A challenge will be with farmers that choose not to use this new technology and have susceptible crops on their farm or adjoining farms. Auxin herbicides such as 2, 4-D and dicamba are well-documented as being very injurious to susceptible crops, even at low doses. It is for this reason that research is being conducted to compare the differences in the amount of particle drift with hooded boom sprayers compared to open boom sprayers. Along with this research, various droplet sizes will also be analyzed and compared between the two sprayers.

Deciding which features to include on a sprayer in order to increase a purchaser's likelihood of buying was a major problem for spray equipment manufacturers. There were several sprayer options that could be included or excluded that affect the retail price of the cotton sprayer. Conjoint analysis was utilized to determine the relative rank and value of features on a cotton sprayer. At the Georgia Cotton Commission Conference, ninety-five respondents completed a sorting of eight cards that each contained groupings of five cotton sprayer feature options. A demographics page was used to identify respondents that were farmer-buyers. The number of participants used in the study was fifty-six. The rankings from this study were entered into SPSS statistical software to retrieve utility values, importance values, and correlations. The analysis of the data showed that the inclusion of chlorophyll sensors had the largest influence on a purchaser's decision to buy. Following this, in terms of importance was presence of wheel shields, type of wheel tread adjustment, and number of spray boom sections. The highest ranking feature combination was three chlorophyll sensors, the presence of shields, hydraulic tread adjustment, and two boom plumbing sections. Chlorophyll sensors were twice as important to respondents as all other features. The respondents were willing to pay the extra cost for the three chlorophyll sensors, proving that the technology was important to them. Once the price increased additionally for the six chlorophyll sensors the respondents' preference for the technology was overshadowed by their preference for price. This showed a strong trade-off with price. It appears that they may be unwilling to pay for the technology because they do not fully understand the benefits of variable rate technology or feel that the technoology cost will not be offset with the benefits.

The thesis deals with the analysis of the structure of the spraying mechanism of the sprinkler, namely the folding handles. The introductory part is theoretical and describes the construction of the main parts of the sprayer. Further, this section deals with materials used in construction and their properties, testing and their weldability. The practical part focuses on the description of the part, ie the design and the type of steel used. In addition, an analysis is performed in Autodesk Invertor. The conclusion of the work consists of recommended modifications of the existing construction and design of a new solution.

Weed control is typically achieved by broadcast spraying postemergence herbicides on the entire orchard floor which wastes chemical by spraying bare ground. Growers can account for spatial variation in weed density and only spray weedy areas instead of applying herbicide to entire fields by using the automatic spot-sprayer, WeedSeeker sprayer. We conducted field experiments in flood- and microsprinikler-irrigated lemon orchards, and flood- and sprinkler-irrigated pecan orchards to measure the amount of herbicide applied, weed control, tree yield, and the economic value of adopting the WeedSeeker sprayer compared to conventional boom spray technology. The WeedSeeker sprayer reduced cumulative herbicide use by at least 36% compared to the conventional boom sprayer at all sites. Weed control obtained using the WeedSeeker sprayer was usually similar to the conventional boom sprayer. There were no effects of the treatments on yield at any location. The partial budget analysis, used to determine the economic value of adopting the technology, showed that as the area of the orchard and the cost of the herbicide increased, the time to recover the initial investment in the WeedSeeker sprayer decreased. The investment in the technology can typically be recovered in less than five years in Arizona lemon and pecan orchards.We also conducted greenhouse experiments to determine the effect of various sensitivity settings and leaf area on the operational efficiency of the WeedSeeker sprayer. The WeedSeeker sprayer did not detect and spray all broadleaf and monocot plants unless a sensitive setting was used. The WeedSeeker sprayer was more efficient when detecting broadleaf plants compared to monocot plants. Our results indicate that operating the WeedSeeker sprayer using a sensitive setting (sensitivity level 2) will result in the most efficient detection of weeds.Finally, field studies were conducted in a non-bearing pecan orchard to evaluate weed management systems using various postemergence and preemergence herbicides. Most postemergence herbicides controlled the weed species present in the orchard. Tank mixing the herbicides generally resulted in greater control compared to applying them alone. All preemergence herbicides reduced the weed emergence compared to not using a preemergence herbicide. No pecan tree damage was observed in any treatment.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / The incidence of the disease in horticultural crops is one of the important problems that affect the production of fruits, vegetables and flowers. Regular monitoring of crops for early diagnosis and treatment with pesticides or removal of the affected crop is part of the solution to minimize crop loss. The monitoring of crops by human labor is expensive, time consuming, prone to errors due to insufficient knowledge of the disease and highly repetitive at different stages of crop growth. These needs have motivated to design the mobile robot with vision sensors for navigation through the field. The robot has been designed in the Autodesk Inventor software. Programming for navigation is done in the Arduino Mega 2560 tool. Image capture has been performed using the RGB camera. Image processing for the identification of the disease and its representation in a graphical user interface has been performed using an algorithm in MATLAB R2018B that interacts with the Arduino tool through a communication bus. The system developed consists of the design of a prototype that uses simple and cost effective equipment such as Raspberry Pi, RGB camera, two motors and sensors that allow the autonomous fumigation of corn crops. / Revisión por pares

Variable-rate technologies coupled with broadcast spray systems serve to reduce chemical inputs, misapplication of chemicals, and environmental pollution, thus improving profitability and sustainability. Sprayer variable rate control involves using pulse width modulation (PWM) solenoids and/or direct chemical injection to adjust the application rate. The objectives of this research were to: outfit a conventional broadcast sprayer with PWM and direct inject technologies; evaluate the accuracy of the PWM system to control application rate for strait line and turn segments; and characterize the direct injection system’s transport delay time. For the PWM evaluation, the mean flow rate and coefficient of variation of individual nozzles indicated consistent performance. For the direct injection evaluation, the manufacturer recommended plumbing scheme and injection point location resulted in unsatisfactory delay times, ranging from 105 to 150s for the 8 km h-1 (5 mph) speed and 60 to 90s for the 16 km h-1 (10 mph) speed.

En Tunisie, comme dans plusieurs pays méditerranéens, la céréaliculture est une activité très consommatrice de pesticides, (63% de la consommation totale de l'agriculture tunisienne). Par conséquent, il est nécessaire d'étudier le devenir des pesticides appliqués afin de réduire les quantités perdues dans l'environnement tout en maintenant un niveau acceptable de l'efficacité des traitements. Plusieurs études ont montré qu'après leur éjection par la buse, les gouttes sont plus ou moins soumises aux phénomènes de dérive et de perte au sol pendant l'application. La partie principale de ce travail est basée sur le développement et la validation d'un modèle capable de calculer les dépôts, la volatilisation, (évaporation et pertes vers l'air) sous le vent, en grandes cultures. Le modèle DriftL a été alors construit sous le logiciel SciLab, version 5.03. Il a été calé à partir de mesures réalisées sous des conditions contrôlées en soufflerie et a bénéficié d'une validation expérimentale. Une deuxième partie a étudié expérimentalement les pertes directes au sol et la rétention sur les plantes en conditions de laboratoire. Comme le travail mené en soufflerie, elle a permis de mettre en évidence une relation entre la granulométrie de la pulvérisation, la hauteur des buses, les variables microclimatiques et les dépôts mesurés dans les compartiments air, sol et plante. Pour effectuer les mesures, une démarche expérimentale a été mise en place afin de choisir la méthode de travail. Après de nombreux tests, un collecteur a été sélectionné pour chaque compartiment. Une rampe mobile a été également fabriquée pour jouer le rôle du pulvérisateur dans les conditions de laboratoire. Les mesures effectuées au champ ont permis de valider des calculs de DriftL et des résultats obtenus au laboratoire / In Tunisia, as in many Mediterranean countries, cereal is a very very pesticides intensive crop (63% of overall Tunisian agriculture consumption). Consequently, it is necessary to study the fate of applied pesticides to reduce the losses to the environment and maintain an acceptable effectiveness of treatments. Several studies have shown that after their ejection from the nozzle, drops are subject to drift and ground loss during application.The main part of this work is based on the development and validation of a model to calculate drift in field crops. Thus was developed our model, DriftL, under Scilab software, version 5.03. It has been stalled from controlled conditions measurements in a wind tunnel and received experimental validation. A second part studied experimentally the direct soil losses and plants retention under laboratory conditions. As well as the wind tunnel results, it has showed a relationship between the size of the drops VMD, the microclimatic variables and deposits in the concerned compartments.To measure deposits, an experimental approach has been established in order to choose the work method. After numerous tests, one collector was selected for each compartment. A device was also built to replace the sprayer in laboratory conditions. The field measurements were used to discuss DriftL calculations and laboratory results.

O objetivo do trabalho foi o de comparar a eficiência de aplicação de agroquímicos na cultura da soja utilizando diferentes pontas de pulverização para aplicações terrestres em alta velocidade. Foram avaliadas as pontas AXI 110 04 na velocidade de 15 km.h-1 (testemunha), APE Cinza, AXI 110 08, TD Hispeed 110 06 e AXI TWIN 120 06, todos na velocidade de deslocamento de 35 km.h-1. O volume de aplicação foi fixado em 120 L.ha-1. A eficiência de aplicação foi avaliada por dois métodos: Análise do percentual de cobertura utilizando marcador fluorescente e luz ultravioleta e análise de depósito através da recuperação e quantificação do corante azul brilhante FD&C N°1 por espectrofotometria. Ambas as analises foram feitas em amostras retiradas de três partes da planta: Superior, média e inferior. As pontas de pulverização mostraram padrões de cobertura e depósito diferenciados, de modo que na parte superior da planta, a cobertura foi favorecida por gotas mais finas e o depósito melhorado pelo uso de gotas médias. Nas demais partes da planta não houve diferença estatística entre os tratamentos tanto para cobertura quanto para depósito. A velocidade de deslocamento não interferiu na eficiência de aplicação para pontas com mesmo padrão de gota, permitindo o aumento da capacidade efetiva do pulverizador sem diminuição na qualidade da aplicação. / The aim of this study was to compare the efficiency of agrochemical application on soybean crop using different types of spray nozzles for ground applications in high travel speed. It was evaluated the nozzles AXI 110 04 with ground speed of 15 km.h-1 (reference), APE Grey, AXI 110 08, TD Hispeed 110 06 and AXI TWIN 120 06, all using travel speed of 35 km.h-1. The volume rate was fixed in 120L.ha-1. The application efficiency was evaluated by two different methods: Analysis of coverage area using fluorescent dye tracer and UV light and analysis of deposits through the recovery and quantification of bright blue tracer FD&C N°1 by Spectrophotometry. Both analysis were done in samples collected from three parts of the plant: Top, medium and bottom. The spray nozzles showed differences in coverage and deposit pattern, so in the top of the plant, the coverage was increased with smaller droplets and the deposit was increased with medium droplets. In the other parts of the plant, there was no statistical difference between the treatments both for coverage and deposit. The travel speed did not influence the application efficiency for droplet with the same droplet pattern, so it is possible to increase the effective capacity of the sprayer without decreasing the application quality.

O objetivo do trabalho foi o de comparar a eficiência de aplicação de agroquímicos na cultura da soja utilizando diferentes pontas de pulverização para aplicações terrestres em alta velocidade. Foram avaliadas as pontas AXI 110 04 na velocidade de 15 km.h-1 (testemunha), APE Cinza, AXI 110 08, TD Hispeed 110 06 e AXI TWIN 120 06, todos na velocidade de deslocamento de 35 km.h-1. O volume de aplicação foi fixado em 120 L.ha-1. A eficiência de aplicação foi avaliada por dois métodos: Análise do percentual de cobertura utilizando marcador fluorescente e luz ultravioleta e análise de depósito através da recuperação e quantificação do corante azul brilhante FD&C N°1 por espectrofotometria. Ambas as analises foram feitas em amostras retiradas de três partes da planta: Superior, média e inferior. As pontas de pulverização mostraram padrões de cobertura e depósito diferenciados, de modo que na parte superior da planta, a cobertura foi favorecida por gotas mais finas e o depósito melhorado pelo uso de gotas médias. Nas demais partes da planta não houve diferença estatística entre os tratamentos tanto para cobertura quanto para depósito. A velocidade de deslocamento não interferiu na eficiência de aplicação para pontas com mesmo padrão de gota, permitindo o aumento da capacidade efetiva do pulverizador sem diminuição na qualidade da aplicação. / The aim of this study was to compare the efficiency of agrochemical application on soybean crop using different types of spray nozzles for ground applications in high travel speed. It was evaluated the nozzles AXI 110 04 with ground speed of 15 km.h-1 (reference), APE Grey, AXI 110 08, TD Hispeed 110 06 and AXI TWIN 120 06, all using travel speed of 35 km.h-1. The volume rate was fixed in 120L.ha-1. The application efficiency was evaluated by two different methods: Analysis of coverage area using fluorescent dye tracer and UV light and analysis of deposits through the recovery and quantification of bright blue tracer FD&C N°1 by Spectrophotometry. Both analysis were done in samples collected from three parts of the plant: Top, medium and bottom. The spray nozzles showed differences in coverage and deposit pattern, so in the top of the plant, the coverage was increased with smaller droplets and the deposit was increased with medium droplets. In the other parts of the plant, there was no statistical difference between the treatments both for coverage and deposit. The travel speed did not influence the application efficiency for droplet with the same droplet pattern, so it is possible to increase the effective capacity of the sprayer without decreasing the application quality.

The diploma thesis deals with the design of the structural optimalization of the chassis stabilization of the self-propelled agricultural spraying machine and the causes of instability. The introductory part describes the normative conditions for plant care by spraying. The history of the spraying technician and the use of this self-propelled machinery are also detailed. A substantial part of the work is devoted to the construction parts of the self-propelled spraying machine and their proper function. Important emphasis is placed on the chassis parts, whose features are key to rocking the machine. Part of the thesis is the design of construction solutions aimed at increasing the stability of the machine chassis, including the evaluation of the optimal variant. The conclusion of the thesis contains a balance sheet on the applicability of the proposed design solution, in terms of improved stability of the road and thus also the functionality of the whole sprayer.