IIT Kharagpur develops solar-powered pest control system for smaller farm fields SECTIONS Share Synopsis The research team has developed a self-propelled boom-type sprayer that can be operated using solar energy while safely guided through the crops in smaller tracts of land, the leading engineering institute said in a press release on Tuesday. Agencies A set of solar-powered batteries act as the power source of the DC motor to propel the spraying unit as well as for running the pump. Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur have developed energy-efficient pest controlling devices for smaller agricultural tracts owned by marginal farmers.