Pesticide spray drift has been a worldwide concern in terms of potential environmental pollution and ecosystem damage. This study defined the main drift reduction agent (DRA) characteristics that help to understand the drift formation process in agricultural spraying. Seven various DRAs and water were evaluated. Three solutions were created based on the following materials: calcium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, benzenesulfonic acid, C10-13-alkyl derivatives, and calcium salt. Drift measurements were performed by means of the open circuit-type wind tunnel and in the field under conditionally controlled conditions. Air-injector flat spray nozzles and standard flat spray nozzles were used during trials. The spray pressure was 4.0 bar. Solutions were sprayed at different wind speeds (from 2 m s⁻¹ to 10 m s⁻¹, increasing every 2 m s⁻¹). Studies have shown that wind speed and nozzle design have the greatest influence on spray drift. For all DRA solutions studied, the standard flat spray nozzles resulted in ground spray drift, both in the wind tunnel and in the field, which was about two times higher than that of air-injector flat spray nozzles. The spraying of water and all DRA solutions with the air-injector flat spray nozzle showed that all new solutions statistically significantly reduced the drift both in the tunnel and in the field. Ground-drift studies in the wind tunnel showed a trend towards a less intense drift reduction in DRA droplets with increasing wind speed. With DRA7e, the drift can be reduced by up to 56% (at a wind speed of 4 m s⁻¹) and up to 30% (at 10 m s⁻¹). The effect of the solutions on the reduction in spray drift is significantly lower when spraying with standard flat spray nozzles. Spray drift can then be reduced by up to 30% (at a wind speed of 4 m s⁻¹) and up to 12% (at 10 m s⁻¹) for DRA7e.

Agricultural spraying, despite modern technological advances, still poses the problem of downwind spray drift, which contributes to environmental contamination and ecological imbalance, which are critical sustainability concerns. This study investigated the effect of lateral wind on different unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spraying systems under semi-controlled conditions, additionally evaluating the impact of four tank-mix adjuvants (drift reduction agents (DRAs)) at varying concentrations on spray effectiveness, droplet size, and deposition compared to water as a control. By examining UAV-specific spray dynamics, this research provides insights into sustainable drift reduction strategies that minimize environmental impacts. For the UAV spraying performance trials, three UAVs with different spraying configurations were tested, TTA M6E, XAG XP2020, and DJI T30, to identify the most effective system for minimizing downwind spray drift. For the DRA effectiveness trials, four commercially available adjuvants were evaluated at different concentrations utilizing the T30 UAV, which was chosen because it produces the highest proportion of fine droplets. The DRA products included an ionic/non-ionic surfactant (DRA No. 1), silicone-based wetting agents (DRA Nos. 2 and 3), and a silicone-based spreader-adhesive (DRA No. 4). This study showed that, among the tested UAV spray systems, M6E and XP2020 performed better in low-wind conditions, while T30 was more suitable for stable target area deposition in windy conditions but produced higher quantities of fine droplets prone to drifting further. Lateral wind contributes significantly to spray drift, as shown by the results, with increased wind speed causing an additional drift of up to 2 m downwind for all systems. The study also showed that all the tested DRAs exhibit the potential to mitigate drift and improve crop coverage, contributing to more efficient resource use and reduced environmental impacts. All the DRA products either reduce the drift distance by up to 3 m or decrease the deposition by up to 67% compared to water. However, DRA No. 1 showed the best results out of all the tested products in terms of drift control, while DRA No. 4 showed the best target area coverage and adequate drift control capabilities. More field research is required to validate the effectiveness in real-life application scenarios. In summary, the following management measures can be used to control droplet drift using UAV spraying systems, in order of importance: selecting a UAV and nozzles that are optimal for the specific requirements of the spraying task, planning applications in correlation with lateral wind speed, and the use of DRAs.

Harvesting of high-moisture corn ears poses a challenge due to the high level of grain damage. In the present study, a series of concaves adapted to moist corn ears threshing was developed and evaluated. The key improvements include a concave arc shape and oblique crossbars to reduce corn grain damage and threshing losses. Results show that the geometrical shape of the concave arc and its crossbars have a significant influence on the grain detachment from the ears, grain separation through the concave, and grain damage during the threshing process of moist ears of corn. Studies show that replacing the concave rounded crossbars with oblique ones can increase threshing performance of moist corn ears. A concave with an Archimedes’ spiral arc and oblique concave crossbars is an effective approach to improve corn grain quality and reduce harvest losses due to grain damage. We identify the optimal design for threshing corn ears as an experimental concave with an Archimedes’ spiral arc of 8 mm height, with 19 mm wide crossbars of the concave with an oblique working plane (tilt angle 25°). This design achieves minimal threshing grain losses (0.03%) when threshing moist ears (grain moisture content ~35%), and damaged grain in the threshing apparatus does not exceed the permissible limit of 3% at an ear feed rate of 16.8 kg s⁻¹.

Application of hydroponic systems in feed production has not been extensively studied. Therefore, there is insufficient data on the effect of the slope of hydroponic growing trays used in the nutrient film technique on wheat fodder yield and its qualitative parameters. The slope of the trays has only been studied for food crops. This study conducted experimental research using a nutrient film technique hydroponic fodder growing device to evaluate the impact of growing tray slope angle on hydroponic wheat fodder production. The slope angle of the growing trays was changed from 2.0% (1.15°) to 8.0% (4.57°) with increments of 1.5% (0.86°). This research used two different light sources for wheat sprout illumination: indoor lighting (fluorescent lamps) and light-emitting diode illumination. In addition, two nutrient solutions were used for sprout irrigation: tap water and a solution enriched with macro- and microelements. Experimental studies confirmed the hypothesis that the slope angle of growing trays significantly affects the yield of wheat fodder grown for seven days. Analyzing the results, we found that the highest yield of wheat fodder after seven days of cultivation was achieved with growing trays sloped by 6.5% and using indoor lighting. In addition, we achieved the highest wheat fodder dry matter content using a 6.5% slope angle. Experimental studies also confirmed the hypothesis that using macro- and micronutrients in the nutrient solution does not significantly affect the yield of wheat fodder grown hydroponically for seven days.

Shattering of pods of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) is a major cause of seed yield losses prior to and during harvesting. In order to reduce shattering, researchers have been engaged in the development of special preparations that are known as pod sealants (PS). Despite the fact that there are already developed and commercialized PSs that have only been effective on seed yield preservation under certain environmental conditions, there is still a need to create a more versatile and efficient PS. Currently, the most promising method of controlling pod shattering in oilseed rape is the application of our developed novel acrylic- and trisiloxane-based pod sealant (PS4). The effectiveness of PS4 and three commercial pod sealants (PS1, PS2, and PS3) was assessed in this comparative study. By spraying an oilseed rape crop with PS4, natural seed loss can be reduced by 20–70%, depending on the prevailing weather conditions, and loss of seeds during harvest can be reduced by more than three-fold compared with that by the control treatment. Thus, the overall results demonstrated that by applying a novel pod sealant (PS4) to oilseed rape crops 2 weeks before harvest can increase the net profit margin by €30–€150 ha⁻¹. The life cycle assessment showed that during 2014–2016 oilseed rape cultivation, the largest effect on global warming emission (kg CO₂ eq) reduction was experimental sealant PS4, i.e., approximately 17% compared to the control.