Today, the modern agriculture farm includes a tractor as a key power unit. Considerable efforts have been focused on tractors, since it"s the point where the fuel is being consumed (Moreda et al., 2016). The explanations for the general improvement in the PTO and drawbar specific fuel consumption are documented rarely. However, the influences include advancements in IC engine construction and transmission, fuel delivery mechanism and turbocharger technology.At present, most of the agricultural tractors deliver power through drawbar, rear PTO shaft and hydraulic lift system. The current investigations recommend that electric drives

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The introduction of electrically charged sprays in agricultural application has become inevitable for better control on droplet transference with reduced drift with less spray chemical requirements. The study was under taken to develop an electrostatic induction spray charging system as attachment to knapsack mist-blower. A high voltage generator was fabricated on the basis of Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier principle with input of 6 V DC battery. A self-atomizing hydraulic nozzle was developed to deliver the droplet spectrum required for effective electrostatic charge induction. The prototype was evaluated for charge to mass ratio (mC. kg-1) at five electrode potentials (1 kV, 2 kV, 3 kV, 4 kV and 5 kV) at four electrode placement positions from atomization zone (0, 5, 10 and 15 mm). The charge mass ratio (CMR) value of spray cloud was measured using Faradays Cage at five positions from nozle tip (50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 cm). The electrode voltage potential at 5 kV at its position 5 mm from the atomization zone shown the maximum CMR value of 1.088 mC.kg-1. Khatawkar et al.; CJAST, 39(5): 80-91, 2020; Article no.CJAST.55756 Original Research Article 81In contrast with commercial system (ESS-MBP90) it was observed that except at 50 cm distance, the developed charging system, at 4 kV and 5 kV, surpassed commercial system in CMR from 100 cm to 250 cm distances. The droplet spectrum of the developed system was analysed and observed that the size of droplets were 100 to 200 µm. The developed system found to be cost effective and significantly consistent over the commercial one.

Pesticide application plays a major role in environmental hazards associated with over application and off-target movement of toxic pesticides from inefficient spray application. The introduction of electrically charged sprays for agricultural application can provide greater control of droplet transport with impending reduction of wastage. The study aims to compare the efficacy of electrostatic sprayer on pest control in comparison with mist blower (air assisted sprayer) and air compression sprayer (hydraulic sprayer). Six pests were viz. pumpkin beetle, cowpea aphid, cucurbit fruit fly, brinjal mealy bug, caterpillar and chilli mite were selected based on specific characteristics viz. integumental, movement and ecological niche. Energy use efficiency in production and application of pesticides used by different sprayers for the control of selected pests were quantified based on application efficiency of sprayers, Pre and Post pest count and the reoccurrence of pest infestation after spray. The energy use efficiency of electrostatic sprayer was found to be 1.5 times more than that of mist blower and 2 times more than that of air compression sprayers. In the chemical usage by electrostatic sprayer was reduced by 65 per cent and that of knapsack mist blower was 35 per cent with air compression sprayers. The post pest count was almost nil in all the categories of pest while applying with electrostatic sprayer and the reoccurrence of the pest to the threshold level was minimum. This contributed a significant increase in energy use efficiency of electrostatic sprayer, when it considered globally.

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This study aimed at finding out the efficacy of electrostatic sprayer on pest control in comparison with mist blower and air compression sprayer. Six pests were selected based on specific characteristics viz. integumental, movement and ecological niche. Energy use efficiency in production and application of pesticides used by different sprayers for the control of selected pests were quantified based on application efficiency, pre and post pest count and reoccurrence of pest infestation after spray. The greenhouse gas emission for the total energy usage for the corresponding quantity of pesticide were computed for all the selected sprayers. The energy use efficiency of electrostatic sprayer was found to be 1.5 times more than that of mist blower and 2 times more than that of air compression sprayers. The chemical usage by electrostatic sprayer was reduced by 65%, and that of knapsack mist blower was 35% with air compression sprayers. The corresponding greenhouse gas emission was only 20% for electrostatic sprayer and 65% for powered mist blower than that of air compression sprayers. The post pest count was almost nil in all the categories of pest while applying with electrostatic sprayer and the reoccurrence of the pest to the threshold level was minimum. This contributes a significant reduction in emission of CO2 when considered globally, and ultimately contribute to mitigation of global warming.

International responsibility is increasing in India to adopt a more pro-active role in greenhouse gas emission. Hence, it is important to develop a clear understanding of our emission inventory towards reducing Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Soils are an important pool of active carbon and tillage can lead to carbon emission from agricultural soils. This study assess the quantity of CO2 release from three major soils (red loam, coastal sandy and paddy field soil) of Kerala under different tillage practices(conventional, with cultivator and with rotovator) and to optimize the tillage practices with minimum CO2 emission. The CO2emission from soil surfaces was measured using base trap method with Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) as base. The influence of soil temperature, soil moisture content, organic matter in soil, soil pH, bulk density, atmospheric temperature and relative humidity on CO2 emission was assessed. The conventional tillage resulted in the maximum CO2 emission followed by the tillage with cultivator and the least value was observed when tilled with rotovator. The maximum CO2 emission was observed in the paddy field soil followed by red loam and the least value was observed from the coastal sandy. The major quantity of CO2 was released just after the breakage of soil in all kind of tillage methods and became almost equal to the undisturbed condition after two hours of ploughing. The bulk density of soil was negatively correlated, organic carbon content was positively correlated, soil temperature was positively correlated and atmospheric temperature was positively correlated with CO2 emission from the red loam soil in all the tillage practices. No significant correlation was obtained between relative humidity and soil moisture with CO2emission.Tillage with rotovator contributed the minimum CO2 to atmosphere and significantly affects the concentration of CO2in the atmosphere, ultimately contribute in mitigation of global warming.