Development and field evaluation of a battery operated self-propelled electrostatic sprayer

Manual pesticide spraying, commonly practiced in small landholdings, is laborious and hazardous. Tractor-operated sprayers and drones offer high field capacity and reduce manual labour; however, they involve high initial cost, fuel-related pollution, and uneven spraying, while drones pose risks of pesticide drift. These limitations make them unsuitable for small landholdings. To address this, a self-propelled electric electrostatic sprayer was developed for sustainable pesticide application in small landholdings. The sprayer consisted four air-assisted electrostatic spraying units, a propelling unit with transmission system, a powering unit with lead-acid batteries, a DC pump, and a spray tank. Field performance was evaluated at forwardspeedof 1.2km h-1. The sprayer achieved turning radius, swath, application rate, effective field capacity and field efficiency of 1.01 m, 2.2 m, 416.82 l ha−1, 0.18 ha h−1, and 70%, respectively. It produced VMD of 155.9–204 µm, droplet density of 28–73 droplets cm-2, RSF of 0.65–0.91, and UC of 2.02–3.16 across canopy heights. Once fully charged, the sprayer operated for 75 minutes. Propelling unit consumed the highest power (207.83 W), followed by spray-charging unit (51.33 W) and blowers (48.94W).The electric electrostatic sprayer performed satisfactorily and proved effective for small landholders.