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Atomization and Sprays

Journal of the International Institutes for Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems

ISSN for PRINT: 1045-5110

Institutional price:	$787.00
Issues per year:	8

Best Paper Award Selection - Editorial Board Site

2005, Volume15

134 pages

Issue price - $92.00

EFFECT OF FAN SPEED AND ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE ON DEPOSITION OF ORCHARD CANOPY SPRAYS

G. N. Laryea
Department of Agricultural Machinery Engineering, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea

Soo-Young No
Department of Biosystems Engineering, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763, Korea

ABSTRACT

This work is a continuation of an ongoing project, performed in an orchard, to determine the effect of air flow velocity on electrostatic forces in plant canopy. Field applications were made using the fluorescent tracer manganese(II) sulfate (MnSO₄), applied through seven electrostatic pressure-swirl nozzles with and without charge when fitted to an axial-fan orchard airblast sprayer with selected fan speeds of 1000, 1500, and 2000 rpm. Spray deposition was analyzed for two varieties of semidwarf apple trees referred to as M9 and M26 East Malling Roots. The field experiment was performed with single and twin passes of the sprayer at a constant ground velocity of 0.82 km/h. Statistical methods were used to analyze and to compare the effect of the selected fan speeds on electrostatic forces at sampling locations between the uncharged and charged sprays. The charged spray showed an increase of 2.47−2.51-fold at a fan speed of 2000 rpm for one pass and two passes, respectively, for M9 trees. The charged spray deposition was superior to the uncharged spray by 1.65−1.89-fold at 2000 rpm for both passes. There was no significant difference between the charged and uncharged spray deposition for the fan speed of 1500 rpm for two passes. It therefore emerged that the charged spray was superior to the uncharged spray at a fan speed of 2000 rpm.