Automated Prototype Intra Row Weeding System

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 (Srpm) 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.