Development of a New Application System for the Rapid Dosing of Crop Protection Chemistries.

传统上用于控制农业杂草的化学选择性除草剂由于抗性的增强而变得不那么有效了。在园艺中，由于生产规模相对较小，与其他作物（如玉米）相比，可用的除草剂较少。该项目旨在为选择不同的作物提供一种杂草控制方法，初步研究园艺作物，如生菜。监管控制的加强也导致了一些除草剂的流失，以及整个行业新化学品开发的放缓。这导致一些农民依靠昂贵的手工除草来控制杂草数量，这个项目试图提供一种控制杂草的替代方法。该项目旨在开发一种新颖的方法，用于作物保护和营养的有效成分的精确应用。这包括传统产品的应用，如除草除草剂和作物的营养和杀菌剂。因此，与传统的田间喷洒相比，它将大大减少制剂的使用量，减少农业化学喷洒对环境的影响和成本。该系统将能够根据需要安装在传统的农业设备或自动驾驶汽车上。该项目的一个主要目标是生产一种能够以更高的速度（超过5公里/小时）和杂草密度通过生长区域的系统，而不是目前可用的或拟议的精确应用系统[5]，[6]。该项目还旨在开发一种系统，该系统可以精确地针对单个植物，具有低（但足够）的配方量，以减少所需的量。通过这项研究，我们应该能够提供一种物理选择性应用系统，这是当前农业实践的可行替代方案。最初的研究将考虑到该领域的最新技术，以及如何将行业标准之外的技术应用于该项目。这将用于提供系统的设计概念，包括物理施药器类型、传感器和控制方法，以提供足够快的驱动和应用，以及配方对植物的精确定位。除此之外，还将生产一个原型系统，并在一定的速度和杂草密度范围内进行测试，并收集有关系统准确定位植物的能力的数据，包括正确发现目标的位置，错过目标的位置以及错误定位植物的位置(例如：用于作物的除草剂)。还将分析所使用的配方量，以确保它足以在工厂中提供适当的反应，但不会过量，以确保对环境的影响最小。该系统还将在一系列不同的作物上进行测试，以确定其对不同植物类型的适应性。

Chemically selective herbicides traditionally used to control weeds in agriculture are becoming less effective due to a build-up of resistance [1]. In horticulture, there are fewer herbicides available due to the relative small scale of production compared to other crops (eg. cereals) [2], this project intends to provide a weed control method for a selection of different crops, with initial investigations into horticultural crops such as lettuce. An increase in regulatory controls has also led to the loss of some herbicides, and the slower development of new chemicals across the industry [3]. This has resulted in some farmers relying on expensive hand-weeding to manage weed populations [2], this project attempts to provide an alternative method of weed control.The project aims to develop an original method for the precise application of active ingredients for crop protection and nutrition. This includes the application of traditional products such as herbicides to weeds and nutrients and fungicides to crops. It will therefore allow a significant reduction in the volume of formulation used when compared traditional field spraying [4], reducing the environmental impact and cost of chemical spraying in agriculture.The system will be capable of being mounted on conventional farming equipment or an autonomous vehicle as desired. A main objective of the project is to produce a system capable of moving through the growing area at higher speeds (in excess of 5km/h) and weed density than precision application systems currently available or proposed [5], [6]. The project also aims to develop a system which can accurately target individual plants with a low (but sufficient) quantity of formulation to reduce the volume of required. Through this research we should be able to provide a physically selective application system that is a viable alternative to current farming practices.The initial research will show consideration for both the state-of-the-art in the field and how technology outside of the norm for the industry may be adapted for use in this project. This will be utilised to provide a design concept for the system including the physical applicator type, sensors and control methods required to provide sufficiently fast actuation and application and precise targeting of the formulation onto plants. Further to this a prototype system will be produced and tested over a range of speeds and weed densities with data collected on the capability of the system to accurately target plants including where targets are correctly found, where they are missed and where plants are incorrectly targeted (eg. Herbicide applied to crop). The amount of formulation used will also be analysed to ensure it is sufficient to provide the appropriate response in the plant, but not excessive to ensure minimal environmental impact. The system will also be tested over a range of different crops to establish its adaptability to different plant types.