Kediri, with an area of 2,574 ha of rice fields can produce 19,657 tons of rice in 2018 (BPS Kota Kediri). One of the agricultural areas is Wonosari Hamlet, Bujel Village, Mojoroto District, Kediri City.
According to local farmers, there are several obstacles faced when farming, one of which is the process of applying fertilizer to plants.
Fertilization of rice still uses a liquid fertilizer sprayer in the form of a tank that is supported by the body.
This method makes some farmers unable to do fertilization independently, so they have to pay a lot of operational costs to hire workers to spray fertilizer.
This motivated six students of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Brawijaya (FTUB) to design a compressor-based semi-modern fertilizer sprayer.
The six students are Muhammad Iqbal Ashari, Adji Wicaksono, Charis Maulana, Muhammad Faiz Luthfianto, Moch. Iqbal Wahyu Hidayat, and Muhammad Qashmal Fachrezi.
The fertilizer sprayer by the six students is based on a compressor which function is to increase air pressure.
The compressed air from the compressor will flow into the fertilizer storage tank. The fertilizer that is exposed to compressed air will be flowed through a hose to be sprayed on the plants.
“We use a long hose so that our tool will be able to reach all corners of the rice fields,” explained Iqbal as the team leader.
He also added that his team is committed to making this tool to help local communities increase their rice field production more efficiently as a form of implementation of the Higher Education Tri Dharma.
“It is our duty as students to channel our ideas in helping society,” he said on behalf of the team. (mic)
