Pusa Solar Powered Knapsack Sprayer
Introduction
Knapsack Sprayers are widely used by small and marginal farmers to spray plant protection chemicals by operating lever @ 16-20 stroke/minute which induces fatigue to workers along with greater variation in spray pressure causing inconsistency of application and in turn adversely affecting pest control and in long run it may lead to ground water pollution. In light of the above problem, solar powered spraying system has been developed which can be even fitted with the 2 existing sprayer. The diaphragm type pump is able to create 4 kg/cm pressure without pulsation, which is sufficient for fine & uniform spray.
Technical Details
The system consists of 12V DC motor with diaphragm type pump, non return two-way valve, safety control: high pressure switch, three Technical details: Pusa Solar Powered Knapsack Sprayer head lance and acid-lead or Li-O battery.
• Swath width : 1.75 m
• Droplet size : 210-350 μm (at 40 psi)
• Field capacity : 0.35 ha/h
• Source of power : One person
• Nozzle spacing : Adjustable
• Power : Solar Chargeable Lead Acid Battery Pack (Charging time 2 h; Operation time 6 h or Directly by SPV 60 W )
• Estimated cost : 13,200/-
Advantages :
• Equipped with constant pressure system which gives quality spray i.e. uniformity, fine spray, effective & efficient control of pest is achievable.
• The acid-lead or Li-O battery can be charged by SPV panel of 60W.
• The fully charged battery is able to operate the sprayer for 6 hour continuously, which is adequate for a day operation.
• It enhances field capacity considerably and makes it suitable for row crop applications.
• A 100 mesh filter is provided just before nozzle, which enhances spray quality by filtering the spray material and prevents nozzle from clogging.
• Over and above, it is able to reduce farmer's drudgery as the lever operation has been replaced by solar powered .
For further information please contact :
Indian Agricultural Research Institute,
New Delhi
