![Sample our Engineering & Technology journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5933/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Engineering-Tech.jpg"})
Abstract
A reliable, highly informative and non contact method is still in demand to observe the quality distribution of orchard sprayers in the field applications. The infrared thermoimage analysis was tested as an innovative method by means of controlled and defined prefield conditions. A feasibility study for assessing spray pattern on hedgerow crops is presented. Feasibility was assessed by measuring variations with different sprayer configurations and by comparison with a vertical patternator. Three trials were carried out by spraying water colder than the leaves on a hedge of Prunus laurocerasus. During the first trial, only static thermal images have been taken. In the successive trials, a complete thermal video of the same field of view (FOV) of the hedge was acquired before and after the spraying. A FLIRTM (S40) thermocamera was used. The distribution quality was compared to the temperature differences, obtained from the thermal images between pre-treatment and post-treatment (ΔT), according to two analysis: the timetrend of ΔT average values for different hedge heights and the imaging ΔT distribution and area coverage by segmentation in k means clustering after 30 s of spraying. The spraying determined a significant thermal reduction of the treated hedge which highest value was achieved after nearly 30 s (near to -8 °C). K means clustering allowed to represent water distribution in the hedge greyscale image considering that a whiter level identified an higher ΔT centroid value, that was in relationship with nozzle configuration used during the spraying. The distribution evaluated by means of the vertical patternator resulted correlated (r=0.75) with the thermo-image analysis.
