The Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) has been awarded a patent for a crop-protective herbicide applicator, which is a machine for directed application of herbicides on weeds, minimising herbicide spray drift and the subsequent harm caused to crops due to phytotoxicity.
This invention helps farmers control weeds with minimal crop damage. While spraying, the crop is drawn inside a crop-protective hood, where it is shielded from the herbicide droplets emanating from the nozzle outside. Weeds are drawn inside a spray hood and are wetted by the spray droplets from nozzle inside the spray hood. Spray drift and the consequent harm to crops brought about by phytotoxicity are significantly reduced by the use of crop-protective hood in conjunction with spray hood in the machinery.
The design of the machine was the outcome of research by scientists Sheeja K. Raj, Jacob D., Shalini Pillai P., and postgraduate scholars Dhanu Unnikrishnan, Anitrosa Innozent, Krishnasree Radhakrishnan, and Seethal Rose Chacko at the Agronomy Department, College of Agriculture, Vellayani.
