IIT Kharagpur Researchers Develop Solar-powered Pest Control System for Smaller Farm Fields in India

Researchers at IIT Kharagpur have developed energy-efficient pest controlling device for smaller agricultural tracts owned by marginal farmers. The research team has developed a self-propelled boom-type sprayer that can be operated using solar energy while safely guided through the crops in smaller tracts of land. The device is aimed to increase field capacity and uniformity in liquid spraying and also to reduce drudgery to the operator and dependency on fossil fuel for carrying out spraying in cropped areas, said a statement from the institute.

About 82% of the farming community is categorized as small or marginal as per FAO with landholding less than 2 hectares (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, 2019). With the view to improve the condition of Small and Marginal farmers and to double the income of farmers by 2022, Government is realigning its interventions from a production-centric approach to farmers' income-centric initiatives, with a focus on better and new technological solutions. “This is an open call to the technical institutions in India to deliver in the field of precision agricultural technologies. In the IIT system, IIT Kharagpur has the sole distinction of having an Agricultural and Food Engineering Department. Hence it is our foremost responsibility to answer this call," opined Prof. Virendra K Tewari, director, IIT Kharagpur.

The semi-automated device, developed by Prof. Hifjur Raheman, Anup Behera Rahul K and Prof PBS Bhadoria from the department of agricultural and food engineering at IIT Kharagpur, will address several challenges of mechanized pest control system in the small farm sector. The system comprises a propelling unit fitted with a liquid storage tank, a DC motor operated pump to pressurize the liquid to be sprayed. Multiple numbers of spray nozzles are mounted on a boom fitted to the front of the machine to cover wider width at a time.

A set of solar-powered battery act as the power source of the DC motor to propel the spraying unit as well as for running the pump. Unlike a knapsack sprayer, the liquid storage tank is of bigger capacity and it is carried on a solar-powered three-wheeler trolley. An operator is required to control the movement of the spraying unit. A simple arrangement has been provided to vary the height of spraying (i.e., nozzle height from the ground) to carryout spraying for different heights of crops. Solar panels are mounted on top of the machine to provide continuous power supply during operation through the Maximum Power Point Tracker controller and it also provides shade to the operator during spraying in the field.

“As compared to conventional knapsack sprayers, the developed sprayer has a higher field capacity and more uniformity of spraying with less drudgery to the operator. It can be easily operated in the field using solar energy with a maximum speed of 2 km/h and can cover a width of 1.5 metres at a time with a field efficiency of 81% thus saving time, human involvement and chemicals,” remarked Prof. Raheman. The researchers have filed a patent for the product and the product is ready for commercialization.

Tewari, who is also a leading expert in the field of farm machinery and power engineering, said: “We have developed several such technologies covering micro-irrigation, shed net cultivation and food processing at the Dept. of Agricultural and Food Engineering which are in use in various villages across the 23 districts of West Bengal and other states in Eastern India. Covering almost 20000 farmers, such innovations empower each member of the farming community following the pathway towards Atmanirbhar Bharat.”