Design and Testing of an Automatic Machine for Spraying at a Constant Distance from the Tree Canopy

The reducing cost of electronic control systems encourages the development of new pest control equipment that reduces the losses of product and improves the uniformity of the distribution. An electromechanical system capable of following-up the tree canopy at a constant distance was designed at Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias with the objectives both of increasing the uniformity of the treatment and of substituting manual treatments. The efficiency of this machine has been tested against conventional treatments with handguns, using the same dose per tree. With the use of this equipment, the toxicity risk for the worker is reduced. Moreover, a 30% saving in time has been achieved.