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Smart device developed for precise use of herbicides

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Smart device developed for precise use of herbicides

~By Manu Moudgil

India loses agriculture produce worth several hundred crores of rupees every year to weeds. While removing weeds manually is laborious, use of chemicals to destroy them is hazardous to environment and crops. A group of Indian and American researchers have developed a weed removal device for precise application of herbicide that can reduce crop damage and contamination.

The tractor-mounted device releases precise amount of herbicide after sensing weed density through image analysis. Amount of herbicide varies for every 5 per cent change in weed infestation unlike the conventional system that uses same amount of chemical on a given plot. The device has been developed for crops with row-to-row spacing of 350-450 millimeters.

Smart device developed for precise use of herbicides

Field experiments on dryland with groundnut and maize crops have shown that the use of the device increased production, reduced crop damage and also saved around 80 per cent of the herbicide as compared to conventional systems of herbicide use.

“We have used sponge rollers which apply the herbicide through contact with weeds instead of spray done by conventional devices. This technique overcomes losses due to chemical drift and soil percolation resulting, which reduces environmental contamination,” explained Abhilash Kumar Chandel, a member of the research team, while talking to India Science Wire.

While contact-type weed eradicators have been developed in the past, this device introduces variability to the dose of herbicide in proportion to weed density. The apparatus includes a storage tank, pipelines, cameras, deflectors, ground wheel and sponge rollers, all connected to the back of a tractor moving at a speed of 2.1 km per hour. The processing unit consists of a laptop with digital image analyser application.

The herbicide can be applied simultaneously in six parallel rows which are served by a camera and sponge roller each. The main crop is restricted from field of view of the camera through deflectors so that only weeds appearing between the rows is captured by the cameras and treated with the herbicide thus ensuring minimum crop damage.

The field experiments showed that groundnut plant damage with the device was 3.6 times less than constant spray application (CSA) and 1.37 times less than constant contact application (CCA). In the case of maize, the plant damage was 2.72 times less that CSA and 1.33 times less than CCA.

The yield coefficient of the plots of two crops treated with the device was higher than the plots where CSA and CCA were used. The results have been published in journal Current Science.

The device is not yet ready for the market as researchers still need evaluate the prototype and make its processing unit more robust. “We want to replace the laptop with a small analytical device which will also reduce the cost. The reliability and feasibility of the weed eradicator needs to be tested for other crops as well,” said Chandel. The research team also wants to offer a variant of the device which can be handheld since many farmers can’t afford to use tractors.

“The actual efficiency of the device will only be known when it comes to the field as there are several factors beyond technology which can determine its performance. It also needs to be affordable for the farmers,” commented Vikram Ahuja of Zamindara Farm Solutions, a Punjab-based farm equipment company.

The research team included A K Chandel from Washington State University; V K Tewari and Aditya Agarwal (Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur); Satya Prakash Kumar (Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal); and Brajesh Nare (Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla). (India Science Wire)

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ISRO launches weather satellite INSAT-3DS to monitor Earth’s surface, oceans  

The Naughty Boy has now become a mature, obedient and disciplined boy like PSLV, and GSLV as they have become a very robust vehicle for ISRO, said Tomy Joseph.

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The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday launched the INSAT-3DS mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 5:35 pm to monitor the Earth’s surface, observe the ocean and analyse the environment through various essential meteorological perspectives.

In its mission, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) aimed to deploy the INSAT-3DS meteorological satellite into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). Subsequent orbit-raising maneuvers will ensure that the satellite is positioned in a Geo-stationary Orbit.

After being positioned in GSO, it will provide information on diverse atmospheric conditions via vertical profiles. INSAT-3DS will manage data collection and dissemination from Data Collection Platforms (DCPs). The satellite will help in search and rescue services.

Congratulating the team, ISRO Chairman S Somanath expressed his happiness over the successful accomplishment of the mission GSLV-F14 INSAT-3DS. He further said that the spacecraft has been injected into a very good orbit. The space agency has also noted that the vehicle has performed very well.

The INSAT-3DS Mission Director, Tomy Joseph sarcastically remarked, saying the Naughty Boy has now become a mature, obedient and disciplined boy like PSLV, and GSLV as they have become a very robust vehicle for ISRO.

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is a launch vehicle with a length of 51.7 meters and a liftoff mass of 420 tonnes. It consists of three stages, the first stage (GS1) is made up of a solid propellant motor with 139-ton propellant and four earth-storable propellant stages (L40) strapons. Each strapon carries 40 tons of liquid propellant.

The second stage (GS2) is also an earth-storable propellant stage that carries 40-ton propellant, and the third stage (GS3) is a cryogenic stage with a 15-ton propellant loading of liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2).

To protect the satellite during the atmospheric regime, it is covered by an Ogive payload fairing. The GSLV is versatile and can be used to launch various spacecraft capable of performing communications, navigation, earth resource surveys, and other proprietary missions.

The launch of INSAT-3DS was a follow-on mission of Third Generation Meteorological Satellite from Geostationary Orbit. According to ISRO, the GSLV-F14/INSAT-3DS mission has been fully funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and designed for enhanced meteorological observations and monitoring of land and ocean surfaces for weather forecasting and disaster warning.

The satellite will augment the Meteorological services along with the presently operational INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR satellites.

Notably, the services will be used by various departments of the MoES such as the India Meteorology Department (IMD), National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and various other agencies.

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PM Modi says day not far when an Indian will land on moon in indigenously built spacecraft

PM Modi said a strong roadmap has been drawn till 2040 for the space sector. He made the announcement after flagging off the first Namo Bharat train on the 17 km stretch of the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit system.

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PM Modi says day not far when an Indian will land on moon in indigenously built spacecraft

Prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the government has drawn up a roadmap for the development of space sector and the day is not far when an Indian will travel to the moon in an indigenously built spacecraft. PM Modi said India’s Gaganyaan will soon take Indian astronauts to space and the India wants to establish its own space station.

PM Modi said a strong roadmap has been drawn till 2040 for the space sector. He made the announcement after flagging off the first Namo Bharat train on the 17 km stretch of the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit system.

PM Modi recalled the success of India’s moon mission Chandrayaan3  which had recently placed the country’s tricolour on the lunar surface. He said India of the 21st century is writing new chapters of progress and development for the landing on the moon has left the world awestruck.

PM Modi added with impeccable hosting of the G20 summit, today’s India has become the centre of attraction and curiosity for the world. He said today’s India wins more than 100 medals in the Asian Games.

PM Modi added today’s India launches 5G on its own strength and takes it to all corners of India. He further added todays India does the highest number of digital transactions. He said the Namo trains that were flagged off today were all made in India.

PM Modi set goals for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) by asking engineers and scientists to work towards setting up an Indian space staion by 2035 and sending an Indian astronaut to the lunar surface by 2040. PM Modi also asked the scientists to undertake interplanetary missions like the Venus orbiter and also attempt a landing on Mars. PM Modi further added the government has handed over festival gifts by reducing the gas cylinder price by Rs 500 for Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries.  

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Chandrayaan-3: ISRO postpones plans to reactivate Vikram Lander, Pragyan Rover on September 23

After Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover soft landing on the South Pole of the Moon on August 24, both Vikram and Pragyan functioned effectively for a duration of 14 Earth days. The Rover was put on sleep mode on September 2, while the Lander was on September 4.

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The Indian Space Research Organisation on Friday postponed the plans to reactivate Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover to September 23.

After Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover soft landing on the South Pole of the Moon on August 24, both Vikram and Pragyan functioned effectively for a duration of 14 Earth days. The Rover was put on sleep mode on September 2, while the Lander was on September 4.

They were put on sleep mode for approximately 16 Earth days before the lunar night enveloped the south pole of the Moon.

Speaking on Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover, Nilesh Desai, Director of Space Application Centre said that earlier we planned to reactivate the Pragyan Rover and Vikram Lander on the evening of September 22, but due to some reasons we will do it on September 23, said Desai.

He further said a plan to take out the Lander and Rover from the sleep mode and reactivate it, adding that, we had a plan to move the Rover to almost 300 to 350 metres but due to some reasons, the Rover has moved 105 metres there.

In collaboration with MyGov, ISRO has invited the citizens to participate in the Chandrayaan-3 Mahaquiz. The step was taken with the motive to honour India’s amazing space exploration journey. This will help to explore the wonders of the moon and show our love and passion for science.  

In order to participate in the Chandrayaan-3 Mahaquiz, the participants would be required to create an account on the MyGov website. There is a cash prize for the winners and it also allows individuals to download the certificate.

Earlier, the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) instrument onboard the Pragyan rover also detected aluminium, calcium, iron, chromium, titanium, manganese, silicon and oxygen, as expected.

ISRO also shared a graph of the observation on X, illustrating the temperature variation of the lunar surface at various depths, as recorded during the probe’s penetration. 

 

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