Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Pesticides play an important role in crop production by reducing crop loss and thereby helping to stabilize production. However, excessive use of pesticides has brought huge negative impacts to the environment and human health.Robotic precision pesticides application proposed in this project aims to address this issue in small fruit crops production such as grapes and berries. A robotic sprayer will be developed based on an unmanned ground robot, which can autonomously drive in a field with pre-set maps and spray based on canopy density. The sprayer will be evaluated with a series of field trials for pesticides application in a vineyard and a raspberry field. The performance in terms of chemical usage and working efficiency will be compared to a conventional sprayer. It is expected to significantly reduce chemical usage for small fruit growers and minimize the human involvement during spray operations. The results from this project will be disseminated to the grower communities through various extension activities such as articles, workshops, field demonstration, and adoption survey. In a long term, the precision and robotic spraying technologies developed in this project will enhance the sustainability of the small fruits industry in the U.S.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
40%
Developmental
40%
Goals / Objectives
The primary goal of the project is to develop and demonstrate a robotic spraying system for pest management in grape and berry fields to save pesticides and reduce chemical drift. Over the long term, the project is expected to provide an advanced plant protection tool for sustainable production and communities. Three objectives are included to achieve the proposed goal.Objective #1: Develop a robotic spraying system with an unmanned ground robot to reduce chemical usage and automate spraying operations.Objective #2: Field evaluation of the newly developed spraying system in grape and berry fields for sprayer performance and disease control efficacy.Objective #3: Extension and outreach for technology introduction, demonstration, and adoption to small fruit growers.
Project Methods
Objective #1: An unmanned ground robot-based sprayer will be developed by integrating a commercial ground robot, a sprayer controlling system, and a canopy measurement sensing system. A LiDAR sensor will be mounted on the robot to measure the canopy density of diverse crops. A controlling system will be developed to automatically adjust the spray rate, air speed, and spray angle of the sprayer. Finally, a robotic spraying system will be integrated and tested.Objective #2:With the integrated robotic spraying system, two field trials will be conducted for two consecutive seasons: one is for a wine grape field, and the other one is for a red raspberry field. The robustness of pest control using this newly developed robotic sprayer will be compared with conventional methods. Working efficiency, chemical savings, and drift reduction will be evaluated.Objective #3:This objective aims to develop a comprehensive in-person extension educational plan for introducing and demonstrating the robotic spraying system to grape and berry growers in the Mid-Atlantic region utilizing field days, twilight meetings and an in-depth workshop format on robotics at the Univ. of Maryland research farm and FREC. Results will be presented at winter meetings that reach large numbers of growers including the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention, and Delaware Ag Week. Articles will be written for grower newsletters including Penn State's "Fruit Times" and Penn State's "Vegetable and Small Fruit Gazette", and newsletters produced by the N. American Raspberry-Blackberry Association and the N. American Strawberry Growers Association.