Evaluation of the pattern of spray released from a moving multicopter

BACKGROUND

Multicopters are used for releasing particulates seeds, fertilizer and spray. Their low cost and high manoeuvrability make them attractive for spraying in steep terrain and areas where overspray is undesirable. This article describes a model of multicopter wake and its influence on particulate dispersion, which is computationally economical compared to many computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approaches, yet retains reasonable accuracy.

RESULTS

A model was successfully implemented in OpenFOAM . It features source terms for the rotor wash, Lagrangian particle tracking, an evaporation model, and a porous medium approach to model the effect of the ground vegetation. Predictions were validated against the field tests of Richardson et al. which used a DJI Agras MG-1 multicopter in three different flights with airspeeds of 3.2–4.9 m s⁻¹, ground speeds of 2.1–2.9 m s⁻¹ and cross-wind speeds of 0.04–2.2 m s⁻¹. The effective swath width (30% line separation) was predicted to within one standard deviation. Sensitivity to a rotor rotational speed, flight height, flight velocity, multicopter roll and yaw angles, surface roughness length, plant height and leaf density was checked.

CONCLUSION

In all flight trials, the modelled swath was closest to the experimentally obtained swath when the surface roughness of the fetch was equal to 0.5 m (bushes) and the rotational speed of all rotors was equal to 2475 rpm with 0.75R (0.2 m) tall plant canopy (grass) introduced to the model. The model showed acceptable validity for flight velocities of ≤2.8–5 m s⁻¹ when flight parameters can be approximately estimated. © 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.     

Application and mechanisms of metal-based nanoparticles in the control of bacterial and fungal crop diseases

Nanotechnology is a young branch of the discipline generated by nanomaterials. Its development has greatly contributed to technological progress and product innovation in the field of agriculture. The antimicrobial properties of nanoparticles (NPs) can be used to develop nanopesticides for plant protection. Plant diseases caused by bacterial and fungal infestations are the main types of crop diseases. Once infected, they will seriously threaten crop growth, reduce yield and quality, and affect food safety, posing a health risk to humans. We reviewed the application of metal-based nanoparticles in inhibiting plant pathogenic bacteria and fungi, and discuss the antibacterial mechanisms of metal-based nanoparticles from two aspects: the direct interaction between nanoparticles and pathogens, and the indirect effects of inducing plant resilience to disease. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.     

Challenges and opportunities of unmanned aerial vehicles as a new tool for crop pest control

The application of pesticides is not simply delivering chemicals to the target area. It also involves considering the negative aspects and developing strategies to deal with them during the application process, to ensure the maximization of pesticides use efficiency and the maintenance of the ecosystem. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sprayers demonstrate unique advantages compared to traditional ground sprayers, particularly in terms of maneuverability and labor intensity reduction, showed great potential for chemical application in pest control. It is undeniable that there exist challenges in the practice of UAV spraying, such as higher potential risks of pesticide drift or pathogen transmission, uncertainty canopy deposition for different crops, and unexpected leaf breakage induced by downwash flow. Maximizing the utilization of downwash flow while avoiding lateral air movement outside the intended target crop area is a major issue for chemical application with UAV sprayers, particularly in light of the increasingly apparent consensus on the need for enhanced environmental protection during the chemical application process. It must be considered that the operation strategy in different scenarios and for different crop targets is not the same, unique requirements should be given on nozzle atomization, flight parameters, adjuvants and aircraft types in specific working situations. In future, the implementation of spray drift prediction, technical procedures development, and other solutions aimed at reducing pesticide drift and improving deposition quality, is expected to promote the adoption of UAV sprayers by more farmers. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.     

秸秆袋装微贮饲料加工机械的研究

秸秆袋装微贮饲料是一种营养价值高、采食和吸收率高、便于贮存和中长距离运输的饲料,是秸秆产业化的一项新技术。研究了商品化秸秆袋装微贮饲料加工机械,并提出了相应的饲料生产工艺。     

生物质能源作物——能源甜菜的开发利用

随着全世界能源物质的不断扩展,可再生的生物质能源将是21世纪主要的能源物质。能源甜菜是新兴的可再生能源作物,它具有生物学产量高,乙醇转化率高,含糖量适中等特点,是取之不尽、用之不竭的环保能源,对环境几乎没有污染;同时又是糖饲兼收的作物。利用能源甜菜通过酒精发酵创造乙醇燃料新能源,可以减轻或消除与粮食争地的矛盾,是保证粮食安全和能源安全的双赢举措。     

Effect of Timing and Nitrogen Fertilizer Application on Winter Oilseed Rape (Brassica napus L.). I. Growth Dynamics and Seed Yield

The field experiments conducted on the grey‐brown podzolic soil in the four growing seasons (1998–2001) at Krzeslice Farm, central‐western Poland comprised seven fertilization variants: 80_NF + 80_CAN; 80_CAN + 80_CAN; 80_AN + 80_AN; 80_NF + 50_CAN + 30_CN; 80_CAN + 50_CAN +30_CN; 80_AN + 50_AN + 30_CN (where NF – nitrofos NPK; CAN – calcium‐ammonium nitrate; AN – ammonium nitrate; CN – calcium nitrate) and control (without N) applied in split rates at the beginning of spring regrowth (80 kg N ha^?1), stem elongation (80 or 50) and flower buds visible stages (30). The yielding effect of tested fertilization variants was significant in comparison with the control (2.24 t ha^?1). The highest mean seed yield (3.64 t ha^?1) was collected from 80_AN + 80_AN and 80_CAN + 80_CAN variants. Mean values of 4 years indicate that the second N rate division (80 + 50 + 30) decreased yield, although not significantly in comparison with these two N treatments. Plants grown on these treatments have developed different patterns of growth to yield the seeds. These patterns were characterized by very high crop growth rate during flowering (above 21 g m^?2 day^?1) and negative at maturation (down to ?2.5 g m^?2 day^?1). Plants fertilized with ammonium nitrate (80_AN + 80_AN) reached maximum growth rate earlier (65 days), which lasted longer (20 days) than plants fertilized with calcium‐ammonium nitrate (71 days lasting 17.5 days). Plants grown on the control treatment reached the highest crop growth rate within 79 days (14.8 g m^?2 day^?1), which lasted 15 days.     

HACCP体系在种植业应用的理论初探

重点介绍了HACCP体系的含义、起源、发展和原理,探讨了该体系在农产品生产等农业种植业领域中应用的可行性,对我国无公害农产品的生产、绿色食品的认证和发展农村经济、保障人们的身体健康具有重要的现实的意义。     

废弃秸秆生物气化的实验研究

利用微生物对秸秆进行气化实验,研究表明:高浓度的VFA并不能抑制甲烷的生成,只是使甲烷存在一段休眠期。浸泡10天的秸秆,产气峰值出现快;当秸秆浸泡超过20天时,产气慢、周期长。其原因是浸泡期间生成的乙醇需要一段时间向乙酸转化;而驯化污泥做接种物,甲烷菌活性强,产气周期短。     

农作物秸秆资源的开发与利用

我国每年秸秆产量约5.7亿t,这是一项巨大的资源.为此,从燃料、肥料、工业原料和饲料4个方面论述了秸秆开发利用的方法和原理,指出了秸秆资源利用的出路在于饲料业;同时,强调做好秸秆资源的开发和利用,对于解决我国饲料粮紧缺状况,缓解能源、林木减产的压力具有重要意义.