Development and field evaluation of bullock drawn solar powered high clearance sprayer

The bullock drawn solar powered high clearance sprayer was developed and performance was evaluated in research farm, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur. Two Solar pv modules of 250 W capacity were selected to operate the DC motor coupled with pump. The DC motor of 1500 rpm was selected based on the voltage available from the Solarpv modules. The current produced by the panel was 20.88 Ah and the charging time was 9.6 h. To discharge 100 Ah battery time required was 2.6 hr. About 888.46 l of chemical was discharged as the battery was fully discharged from a fully charged state. Field capacity of the bullock drawn solar powered high clearance sprayer was found to be 0.945 ha/h for cotton crop and 1.012 ha/h for red gram crop. For spraying operation, the bullock drawn sprayer is operated at an average travel speed of 2.7 km/h for cotton and 3.0 km/h for redgram crop. The average draft for spraying operation was found to be 802.65 N for cotton and 804.38 N for red gram crop. The average power output and breakeven point was calculated for both cotton and for red gram crop.