Modern management in sustainable agriculture requires the fast information about condition of cultivated plants and the quick response to undesirable phenomena such as appearance of pests. The use of drones for spraying plants will allow for rapid application of plant protection agents on the growing areas. In this paper were presented results of research into the impact of rotors rotary speed of moving drone on the spray deposition on plant surfaces. The liquid was sprayed from the drone with the use of the XR 11002 flat fan nozzle at the pressure 0.2 MPa. The drone moved on a track with the permanent speed of 1.3 m•s-1. The liquid sprayed, which was water coloured with nigrosin, settled on foil testers that were secured on three levels (the upper leaf surface, the middle part of the plant, the level of soil under plants) in mustard plants. The height of the sprayer nozzle mounted on the drone over the plants was 0.6 m. The tests were conducted at the zero speed of the rotors and at rotations of 1500 and 4000 revolutions•min-1. The impact was found of the rotational speed of the drone rotors on the change of the distribution of liquid settling on the testers.

Influence of wastes generated during juice production: apple, carrot and red beet, added to barley straw, on density of pellet mass, pellet hardness, ash content and calorific value was assessed. Dry mass content of additives in the substrate to pellet production was: 0, 10, 20 and 30% of the mixture weight. The relative humidity of the raw material was: 17.0, 19.5 and 22%. Higher percentages of additives and higher moisture content in the raw materials increased the hardness and density of the pellet. The contents of natural polymers such as lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose were determined in primary materials used to prepare substrate and in pellet. Changes in the determination of these substances was observed as a result of the granulation process.

Production of energy pellets from waste straw is a good way to manage the straw surplus and to increase profitability of the agricultural enterprises. The present paper covers the results of the tests of the hardness of pellet made from a mixture of rape straw with an addition of wheat flour as a natural binder. The samples of raw material for the production of pellet included 0.0%, 4.1% and 7.8 % of wheat flour, which was determined according to dry matter. The average relative humidity of the raw material samples was: 11.6 %, 22.3% and 30.7%. The measurement of the pellet hardness was performed with the aid of the Kahl method. The influence was found of wheat flour contents and the relative humidity of the mixture on the increased hardness of pellet.

Investigations were performed in relation to the thermal gasification of wood granulate using steam in an allothermal reactor with electric heaters. They studied the impact of the temperature inside the reactor and the steam flow rate on the percentage shares of H2, CH4, CO, and CO2 in synthesis gas and on the calorific value of syngas. The tests were conducted at temperatures inside the reactor equal to 750, 800, and 850 °C and with a steam flow rate equal to 10.0, 15.0, and 20.0 kg∙h−1. The intensity of gasified biomass was 20 kg∙h−1. A significant impact of the temperature on the percentages of all the components of synthesis gas and a significant impact of the steam flow rate on the content of hydrogen and carbon dioxide in syngas were found. The highest percentage of hydrogen obtained was 43.3%. The calorific value of the gas depended significantly on the temperature inside the reactor and the correlation between the temperature and the steam flow rate. Its maximum value was 13.3 MJ∙m−3 at 800 °C. This paper also includes an assessment of the mutual correlations of the percentage shares of the individual synthesis gas components.

Research was carried out concerning spraying young cherry trees with a multirotor drone: a hexacopter. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of the following: the nozzle type, the air stream from the drone rotors and the size of spacing between the trees on the distribution of the liquid sprayed in the crown of the trees being sprayed. Experimental trials were conducted on a laboratory test stand. Air-injector spray nozzles: single and a twin flat were used interchangeably to spray the liquid. The travelling speed of the drone was 1.0 m∙s−1. A drone of 106.7 N weight was accepted in the study. The value of the spray liquid deposited and the uniformity of the liquid deposition in the crowns of the trees as well as the transverse distribution of the liquid under the nozzles were evaluated. It was found that the air stream from the drone rotors increased the distribution of the liquid on the trees sprayed, mainly at the middle and lower levels of the crown. A higher deposition value of the liquid was sprayed from the twin flat nozzle than from the single flat nozzle. There was no significant effect of the difference in the distance between the trees, of 0.5 and 1.0 m, on the liquid distribution. Under the influence of the air jet, the uniformity of the liquid distribution in the crowns of the trees also improved.