Volume 7
Issue 2
Agricultural Engineering
JOURNAL OF
POLISH
AGRICULTURAL
UNIVERSITIES
Available Online: http://www.ejpau.media.pl/volume7/issue2/engineering/abs-03.html
PENETRATION OF AIR WITHIN THE APPLE TREE CANOPY AS AFFECTED BY THE AIR JET CHARACTERISTICS AND TRAVEL VELOCITY OF THE SPRAYER
Waldemar Świechowski, Grzegorz Doruchowski, Ryszard Hołownicki, Artur Godyń
ABSTRACT
The characteristics of air jet together with travel velocity of the sprayer are crucial factors influencing the penetration of air in the tree canopy. The objective of the study was to determine the volume of air penetrating into the canopy of apple trees, produced by three orchard sprayers with different fan types and operated at different travel velocities. Due to different fans, the following discharge systems were available: radial air flow, cross-flow and directed air flow. The sprayers were driven at 4, 6 and 8 km/h along the trees inside which the air velocity was measured in 9 points, placed in 3 vertical layers. The obtained data was processed to get the air volume penetrating the tree canopy and being delivered to the points of measurements. The influence of travel velocity on air penetration in the tree depended on the character of the air jet produced by the sprayer. For high volume/low speed air jets (radial air flow and cross flow) the decrease of travel velocity caused consid
Key words: orchard sprayer, travel velocity, air velocity, air flow, canopy penetration..