Kerala Agricultural University has been awarded a patent for the invention of a crop-protective herbicide applicator. This machine directs herbicides at weeds, minimising herbicide spray drift and the subsequent harm to crops due to phytotoxicity.
The invention benefits farmers who use pre-and post-emergence herbicides in crops by allowing them to control weed plants with minimal crop damage. While spraying, the crop is drawn inside the protective hood, shielded from the spray droplets from the nozzle outside. Weed plants are drawn inside the spray hood and wetted by the spray droplets from the nozzle. Spray drift and the consequent harms to crop brought on by phytotoxicity are significantly reduced by using crop protective hoods in conjunction with spray hoods in the machinery.
The design of the machine was the outcome of research by scientists Sheeja K. Raj, Jacob D., Shalini Pillai P and post-graduate scholars Dhanu Unnikrishnan, Anitrosa Innozent, Krishnasree Radhakrishnan, and Seethal Rose Chacko at the Agronomy Department, College of Agriculture, Vellayani.