Plant Protection of Sugarcane:-
1.Knapsack, back pack and rocker sprayers and dusters
Commercially available knapsack, back pack and rocker sprayers and dusters are used by the farmers. These equipment are either hand operated or engine (power) operated. The common problem is less coverage of an area while using these type of sprayers.
2.High clearance sprayers and wide swath boom sprayers
The high clearance sprayers and wide swath boom sprayers are slowly introduced in different crops and they are more economical as compared to other types of plant protection measures. The high clearance sprayers are self-propelled units. The boom sprayers are either tractor operated or power tiller operated, or Bullock is drawn. The self-propelled high clearance sprayer is powered by 20 hp diesel engine. It has 18 hollow cone nozzles. The maximum ground clearance is 120 cm. The boom length is 1080 cm. The width of boom coverage is 1350 cm. The field capacity of the unit is 1.8 ha/h. The cost of the unit is about Rs. 2,50,000/-.
3.Aero blast sprayer
Even though many chemical applying devices are available, their efficiency and coverage are poor leading to either
loss of chemicals due to runoff and drift or due to non-application of chemicals to the target places. The aero blast sprayer, which
can produce minute droplet size of chemicals and can spray at all the surfaces of the crop canopy, is of much use besides covering a larger area. The aero blast sprayer is operated by the tractor PTO and it can cover a distance of 10 to 15 m on one side of the tractor. The field capacity of aero blast sprayer range from 10 to 20 ha/day while operating at the speed of 2 to 3 km/hr. The cost of the unit is about Rs. 95,000/-.
Source-
- Sugarcane Breeding Institute
