Anti-drift performance of a hoods spray system for soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)-maize (Zea mays L.) strip intercropping

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)-maize (Zea mays L.) strip intercropping is a way to enhance land utilization efficiency, water conservation, and nutrient optimization, but there are few dedicated high-efficiency sprayers. Consequently, the objective of this research was to design a spray system tailored for the strip intercropping of maize and soybean and test its performance. The system consisted of 5 soybean units and 4 maize units, the soybean units consisted of nozzles and a hood, and the maize unit consisted of nozzles and booms. The anti-drift performance of the hoods with different heights and the spray deposition on plants were evaluated. The results demonstrated that the droplet drift increased with higher moving speed, spray pressure, and hood height. In the spray system performance experiment, the droplet deposition rates of soybean ranged from 40% to 50%, while for maize, they ranged from 50% to 68%. This spray system, specifically designed for soybean-maize strip intercropping, uses hood spray and hanger booms to isolate different pesticides and offers valuable technical support for enhancing crop yield, environmental protection, and resource conservation.