The Hindu               13.06.2013

Students unveil sprayer that runs on solar energy

: Final year students of Electrical and Electronics Engineering department at the PDA College of Engineering here have come out with a cost-effective and time saving multi-utility sprayer that operates on solar energy.

Varikuti Vasantha Rao, Sharanakumar Mathpati, Uma Kariyannavar and Veena Rani, under the guidance of Basavaraj Amarapur, assembled a back-mounted sprayer that can be continuously operated for nearly four hours after being charged for six hours. The solar panel mounted on top of the tank carried by the person on the field would continue to be charged during the operation also.

Varikuti Vasantha Rao, explaining the working of the sprayer, told presspersons here on Wednesday that the sprayer, including the solar panels, can be assembled at less than Rs. 6,000, which is a one-time investment and would benefitfarmers, who could avoid expenditure on fuel. The sprayer can be used for spraying pesticides, fungicides and fertilizer.

He said farmers could easily spray pesticide or fertilizer in more than six acres of land in a day.

Mr. Rao said it could be used for painting as well. A fully charged sprayer could spray up to 575 litres at a time. Another added advantage of the sprayer was that it could also be operated on battery during rain and cloudy days.

Mr. Rao said the sprayer was a modified model of the two-stroke petrol engine powered sprayer which was being used by farmers. The students had replaced the two-stroke petrol engine with a single DC motor, which can be operated by electrical energy stored in the battery attached to the unit.

Head of the Electrical and Electronics Department P.K. Kulkarni and principal of the college S.S. Hebbal have congratulated the students.