System for detection and localized application of herbicides in sugarcane

Abstract

The onboard instrumentation available today in the market is almost entirely imported and of the “black box” type. These characteristics, in the case of complete systems, are interesting both to suppliers and to users and, when correctly installed, they provide a secure return on investment. There are still few complete systems available on the national market and, given the complexity of how they are structured, they demand a high initial investment and renders obsolete that part of the non-instrumented fleet in use on the property. The perception of this reality and the evidence from a concrete case in the fleet of ten herbicide duster-combines in the Usina Rafard (União S. Paulo S/A) motivated the research aimed at the study and development of a system capable of satisfying the needs of this agricultural operation under critical conditions (sloping topography, infestation intensity, use of different products, risks of losing control etc.). In Brazil, currently, the use of electronic controls in dusters is limited to conventional systems (command of flow valves via pressure sensor signals) which aim to maintain the dosage of the application independent from the variation in speed of displacement of the tractor in the field. Exceptions are the few cases of imported equipment of the selfpropelled type and of fairly high cost, generally applicable under conditions of flat topography. The project proposes to develop the electroelectronic and mechanical components, the software and operational methodologies that will make it possible to achieve a system for detection and localized application of herbicide in sugarcane. (AU)