Máquina para o controle de plantas espontâneas pela aplicação de calor

Abstract

In the current market of agricultural machinery, equipment with advanced technology are marketed, however there is a gap in the development of machines geared to the needs of family farmers. One of the difficulties of family farmers who produce food organically is the management of weed plants without the use of chemicals. Different organic methods can be employed to manage these plants, they are cultural, biological, mechanical or physical. As physical method highlights the application of heat, which acts on the plant by coagulation of protoplasm in cells of the leaves and stem. The objective of this study was to design a mechanized system for the management of weed plants by means of thermal control, oriented to the needs of small farmers that using the system of organic production. To conduct the study was methodology used to develop products, which is based on a model that divides the design process into four phases: informational design, conceptual design, preliminary design and detailed design. In informational design phase a list of design specifications with 26 requirements was established. In the conceptual design phase seven conceptions of heat applicator machines were developed. In the preliminary design phase were fabricated two prototypes and focused physical type, to analyze the performance and efficiency of the systems. Through the analysis of data collected from experiments with prototypes, it can be observed that the rate control of competing plants increases proportionally to the consumption of gas and that it took between 70 and 84.8 kg ha-1 GLP for control of weed plants around 80%. At the stage of detailed design, have been designed and specified all the components of the machine so that it can be manufactured.