FABRICATION OF SOLAR OPERATED PESTICIDE SPRAYER AND MEASUREMENT OF INCLINATION ANGLE EFFECT OF THE SOLAR PANEL

Abstract

Agriculture is the backbone of Bangladesh. In Bangladesh farms generally two types of spray pumps are used for spraying hand operated spray pump and fuel operated spray pump, of which hand operated spray pump is the most popular. The main disadvantage of hand worked spray pump is that the user can’t use it for more than 5-6 hours nonstop as he gets tired after some hours, where as fuel worked spray pump needs fuel which is costly and accessibility of fuel is not easy at rural places. At the same time it exhausts carbon dioxide as pollutant which is harmful to the environment. In such condition we should reflect to move near some non-conventional energy. Seeing it, solar energy would be one of the options. This development is about pesticides sprayer in agriculture, which uses solar energy as a source of power for spraying. Fabricated the solar pesticide sprayer, evaluate the performance of the sprayer and compare to the hand operated sprayer and cost analysis of the sprayer. The solar operated pesticide sprayer consists of a solar panel of 20 watt capacity, a 12 volt DC battery, charged by solar energy received by solar panel, a DC motor operated by the battery, a pump to spray the pesticides and tank of 16 liters to hold the pesticide. Solar pesticide sprayer facilitates effortless operation. The entire unit is portable and operated by one person or operator. Solar panel on the head of the worker which gives guard from high solar strength. This project reduce the spraying time and cost of spraying. The solar sprayer was required 5 minute 18 second to apply pesticide in 5 decimal field. This time was almost half compare to the hand operated sprayer. The solar sprayer works on 4-5 bar but hand operated sprayer works on 1.5- 2 bar. The solar panel of the pesticide sprayer produces maximum voltage, current and power in 300 inclination angle and the lowest output in 600 inclination angles. Solar pesticide sprayer can run 3 to 4 hours more after 5 hours of operation in full solar intensity which ultimately provides spraying operation facility at night. This sprayer can iii be most often used at various locations such as farms, gardens although it can become more popular in rural areas as well. It is quite economical and eco-friendly as it uses solar energy which can be easily affordable by small and marginal farmers. Further, its power can also be used for multipurpose applications such as charging the battery of mobile, operating the radio and lighting the domestic light etc., which makes it economically viable technology.