Automated Prototype Intra Row Weeding System: AUTOMATED PROTOTYPE INTRA ROW WEEDING SYSTEM

Satya Prakash Kumar; V K Tewari; Abhilash Kumar Chandel; C R Mehta; B Nare; Chethan C R; C M Pareek; Kaustubh Mundhada

doi:10.56042/jsir.v83i4.5427

Authors

Satya Prakash Kumar Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal 462 038, Madhya Pradesh, India
V K Tewari Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721 302, West Bengal, India
Abhilash Kumar Chandel Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech Tidewater, AREC, Suffolk, VA, US
C R Mehta Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal 462 038, Madhya Pradesh, India
B Nare ICAR-Central Potato Research Station, Jalandhar 144 026, Punjab, India
Chethan C R ICAR-Directorate of Weed Research, Jabalpur 482 004, Madhya Pradesh, India
C M Pareek Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721 302, West Bengal, India
Kaustubh Mundhada Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721 302, West Bengal, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56042/jsir.v83i4.5427

Keywords:

Automation, Dynamic force, Fuzzy logic, Intra-row prototype, Plant damage

Abstract

Over the course of several decades, considerable efforts have been dedicated to weed control, exploring various methods and technologies such as manual, chemical, biological, and mechanical approaches. Commercial tools are available for mechanical weed control in the inter-row region; however, the weed control in intra-row zone is still a challenge. Therefore, an intra-row weeding unit concept has been developed and evaluated under laboratory condition. The system is based on ultrasonic sensor, fuzzy logic, four bar linkage mechanism and microcontroller circuit. The results of ANOVA indicate that variation in four bar linkage crank speed (S_rpm) was found to be highly significantly dependent on forward speed of operation (P <0.001). The system was tested at different depths (20, 40, 60 mm), speed of operations (0.96, 1.71, 2.58 km/h) and cone index of 300 kPa, 400 kPa and 500 kPa. The draft and lateral force was found to in the range of 5.88 N to 22.77 N and 0.97 to 8.01 N respectively for entire range of test plan. It was observed that average plant damage of intra row weeding system was varying from 0.66% to 8.66% for all test range of independent parameters. The newly developed intra-row weeding system can be seamlessly connected to the existing tractor-operated inter-row weeder. This integration enables the performance of weeding operations both within and between rows in a single pass of the tractor.