Herbicides Calculator

Reduce pesticide and herbicide losses with IITA's herbicide calculator

The "IITA Herbicides Calculator" is a solution designed to address the prevalent issue of pesticide misuse resulting from inadequate calibration of spray tanks. It permits farmers to estimate the required quantity of herbicides for knapsack sprayers. This tool was developed using Java language, the Ionic framework, and Android Studio, ensuring its robustness and usability. Tested for effectiveness and reliability by researchers, this technology assists in calibrating the application of herbicides and other pesticides specifically for knapsack sprayers. It's important to note that the tool does not involve specific compositions or sequences of products or technologies.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

7•7

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 7/9; level of use 7/9

IP

Open source / open access

Problem

Wasted inputs: Incorrect herbicide dosage can increase the quantity of products used without improving pest or weed control.
Higher operating costs: Excessive pesticide use increases expenditure on crop protection inputs.
Ineffective applications: Incorrect calibration can reduce the effectiveness of products sold or recommended by agrochemical businesses.
Customer losses: Farmers may spend more on pesticides while obtaining limited control when application rates are incorrect.
Reduced service efficiency: Spray service providers may lack a simple method to calibrate equipment and determine the appropriate quantity for each application.
Reputational risk: Repeatedly ineffective pesticide applications can reduce farmer confidence in input suppliers and spray service providers.

Solution

Reduced input waste: Accurate dosage calculation helps farmers use crop protection products more efficiently.
Lower operating costs: Avoiding excessive application can reduce expenditure on herbicides and other pesticides.
Better product performance: Correct calibration helps ensure that products are applied at appropriate recommended rates.
Improved customer outcomes: Farmers can achieve more efficient pesticide use and more reliable crop protection.
More efficient spraying services: Spray service providers can use the calculator to determine the appropriate quantity for each knapsack sprayer.
Stronger advisory services: Agrochemical suppliers and service providers can complement product sales with practical application and calibration support.

Key points to design your business plan

This technology is beneficial for end users (Agro-chemical companies, farmers, spray service providers):

Using this technology aids in accurately estimating the herbicide quantity for knapsack sprayers, minimizing losses, and enhancing herbicide effectiveness.

Regarding the cost structure:

The tool costs 30,000 USD.
Consider training, android phone, and data expenses.

No license is needed.

Estimate the profit realized from implementing this practice.

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: Positive medium

Under 18: Positive low

Women: Positive medium

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Biodiversity: No impact on biodiversity

Carbon footprint: Same amount of carbon released

Soil quality: Does not affect soil health and fertility

Water use: Same amount of water used

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology's development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology's readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 7 out of 9

Semi-controlled environment: prototype

Level of use 7 out of 9

Common use by projects NOT connected to technology provider

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 3: good health and well-being

Goal 8: decent work and economic growth

Goal 9: industry, innovation and infrastructure

Enter Herbicide Dosage: Input the recommended dosage of the herbicide in liters per hectare as indicated on the herbicide label.
Measure Water Dispensed: Measure the volume of water dispensed on a 10m x 10m plot. (To calculate the water sprayed on a 10m x 10m plot, measure an area of 10m x 10m, equal to 100m². Fill water in your knapsack spray tank and spray the measured area following a straight path at a nozzle height equivalent to your knee level. Enter the volume of water dispensed from your knapsack spray tank onto the 10m x 10m plot.)
Enter Knapsack Tank Capacity: Input the capacity of your knapsack spray tank in liters.
Calculate Herbicide Dosage: Press the "Calculate Volume" button to obtain the precise dosage of the herbicide required to be added to your knapsack spray tank before filling it with water for spraying.