February 2-6, 2022 – Students from Khon Kaen University Secondary Demonstration School (Mo Dindaeng) took part in the competition at the Thailand New Gen Inventor Award 2021-2022 or the “Inventors’ Day”, which was organized under the theme: “New Trend for Life: towards Inventions and Innovations” an event organized by the National Research Council, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation at the Event Hall 102-104, Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Center (BITEC), Bangna.
The Demonstration School students’ work – “Mowing Machine and Bio-Sprayer Using GPS Navigation System Control for Solving Durian Growing Problem” won the first runner-up prize at the event. This autopilot innovation will help reduce the time for weeding and bio spraying or use of bio compost, reduce expense and labor in durian orchard. The prize was in the category of Agriculture for secondary school students. The students were awarded a Gold Medal, 40,000 baht cash, and a certificate of appreciation. The prize awarding ceremony was presided over by Dr. Wiparat Dee-ong, Director of the National Research Council. On February 21, 2022, Assoc. Prof. Sumalee Chaijaroen, Ph.D., Dean of the Faculty of Education congratulated the team with a flower bouquet, saying that the faculty was very pleased that the students and the supervisors came up with this successful innovation, which can be used in the community. The students have been interested in technological design, program writing, and electronics, and the teachers are also full of expertise in the fields.
The inventing team included:
Miss Kamolnan Wongprombut
Mr. Kunakorn Tangtrakoon
Miss Yannapa Singkhram
Mr. Wongrawee Srichaiyo
Mr. Pawarit Kongngoennok
The supervising team consisted of:
Mr. Chaidet Kaewsnga
Ms. Kulthida Thongnam
Mr. Arongkot Peeklom
Mr. Sirichao Tangtrakoon
The rationale behind the invention:
At present durian growing in the Northeast has become very popular, especially in the lower Isan area, which is a fertile part of the country from the Panom Dongrak soil. Durians grown here have the quality comparable to durians in the East, and are known as ‘volcano durian’. From the popularity of durians here, more farmers in the area turn to grow durians, especially those living in Ban Sam Tarom, Trakat Sub-district, Kantaralak District, Srisaket. Since durian growing has become famous for a short period, the farmers still lack knowledge and skills. There are weeds that make the trees receiving inadequate nutrients. There are pests, including aphid that destroy the young leaves, making the trees bear few fruits. In addition, durian orchards require a lot of land, and this makes the farmers not considering well before using weed or pest killers. At present, the role of information technology and advances in science and technologies has led to development of facilities that make life simple. Technologies have efficiently assisted the ways of living. Durian growers at Ban Sam Tarom now use lawn mowers to kill weeds. The mowing machine that they use is the portable type and is thus manual. This kind of machine is therefore not suitable for the wide plantation. There is the mowing truck that can be used in the orchard; however, this machine is expensive, and the hydraulic system requires complicated maintenance that also means high cost.
With the above reasons, the inventing team had the idea to solve the problem arising in weed and pest killing in durian plantations. They modified the mowing machine to suit the farmers both in terms of cost and maintenance. The machine can also be used in wide areas, for it is an autopilot machine with a remote control. The machine has also been adjusted so that it can spray the bio extracts that can prevent durian pests to enter the plantation. The invention truly reduces time spent by the farmers, the costs for weed and pest killing and thus the incomes from selling durian would be increased in the long run.
