Review on Application of Drone in Spraying Pesticides and Fertilizers

In today's agriculture, there are far too many innovations involved. One of the emerging technologies is pesticide spraying using drones. Manual pesticide spraying has a number of negative consequences for the people who are involved in the spraying operation. The result of exposure symptoms can include minor skin inflammation and birth abnormalities, tumors, genetic modifications, nerve and blood diseases, endocrinal interference, coma or death. However, Drone can be used to automate fertilizer application, pesticide spraying, and field tracking. This paper provides a concise overview of the use of drones for field inspection and pesticide spraying. displays different methodologies and controllers of agriculture drone and explains some essential Drone Hardware, Software elements and application

Design, Prototype Manufacturing and Performance of a Drone for Vineyard Spraying

The application of pesticides in vinyard areas is of crucial importance for grape yields. Field sprayers and atomizers are commonly used for pesticide applications in vinyards. The aim of this research is to develop a drone that will be an alternative to ground vehicles, to expand its use, to reduce the use of pesticides, as well as safer production with less pesticides in the environment, in vinyards area. In accordance to this purpose, a drone (unmanned aerial vehicle) with 6 motors and a multi-copter system (Hexacopter) was designed and prototype manufactured by using open source software program. The flight tests were carried out in the vineyard areas of Dicle University. In the experiments, water sensitive papers and filter papers were used to measure the amount of trace substance deposite rate and coverage rate. These papers were placed in the upper, middle and lower parts of the vine before started of the tests. Spraying experiments were then carried out at 0.5 ms-1, 1.00 ms-1 and 2 ms-1flight speeds and at different flight altitude such as 30 cm, 60 cm and 90 cm and different part of vine as upper, middle and lower part. Each test was carried out triplicated. According to results, spray deposition and coverage rates were found to decrease with increased flight speed of drone and flight altitudes. At all flight speeds and altitudes, the highest amount of deposite and coverage rate were found in the upper part of the vine, while this ratio decreased towards the lower region. The increase in the spray altitude was negatively affected the penetration of the droplets into the plant. In general, the best amount of trace material deposite and coverage rate were was obtained at 0.5 ms-1 flight speed of drone, 30 cm flight altitude and upper section of vine. While the amount of deposite in the plant at 0.5 ms-1 flight speed was obtained 19.61 µgcm-2, this value decreased to 11.21 µgcm-2 at 60 cm altitude and 6.05 µgcm-2 at 90 cm flight altitude. As a result, we can argued that droplet distribution will be more homogeneous, droplet deposition effect well, and environmental pollution will be reduced, in the application of the remote-control drone and low ltitude sprayin, it also will play a very important role in the vinyard pest control. &nbsp

Development of New Cotton Defoliation Sprayer Using Unmanned Ground Vehicle and Pulse Width Modulation Technology

Chemical spraying is one of the most important and frequently performed intercultural agriculture operations. It is imperative to utilize appropriate spraying technology as a selection of ineffective one leads to waste of agrochemicals to the non‐target area. Several precision technologies have been developed in the past few decades, such as image processing based on real‐time variable‐rate chemical spraying systems, autonomous chemical sprayers using machine vision and nozzle control, and use of unmanned aerial and ground vehicles. Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is an important industrial crop. It is a perennial crop with indeterminate growth habit; however, in most parts of the United States, it is grown as an annual crop and managed using growth regulators. Cotton defoliation is a natural physiological phenomenon, but untimely and/or inadequate defoliation by natural processes necessitates the application of chemical defoliants for efficient harvest. Defoliation is a major production practice influencing harvester efficiency, fiber trash content, cotton yield, and fiber quality. Currently, defoliant spraying is done by conventional ground driven boom sprayer or aerial applicator and both systems spray chemical vertically downwards into the canopy, which results in less chemical reaching the bottom of the canopy. Thus, a new autonomous ground sprayer was developed using robotics and pulse width modulation, which travels between two rows covering the whole canopy of the plant. Field research was conducted to evaluate the (i) effect of duty cycles (20%,40%, and 60%) on droplet characteristic (droplet distribution, deposition, and drift potential), defoliation cotton fiber and (ii) effect of duty cycles on cotton yield and II fiber quality. Droplet characteristics (droplet distribution, density, and potential droplet drift) were non-significant across the treatments and results from the water‐sensitive paper field test showed adequate penetration with low flow rates. Therefore, a 20% duty cycle was sufficient to defoliate based on the result of the field experiment. Likewise, the defoliants could be applied safely at the duty cycles tested without influencing fiber quality except for nep/gm, length (Ln), L (5%), short fiber content (SFCn), trash content in field 1 and micronaire, nep size, length (Ln), span length (5%), SFC, and fiber fineness in field 2 which were significant. However, the 20% duty cycle significantly reduced the amount of defoliant and would be a good choice for the autonomous cotton defoliation. This is a significant development as there is a huge potential to save on the cost of applying defoliant chemicals and the environment

Fleets of robots for environmentally-safe pest control in agriculture

Feeding the growing global population requires an annual increase in food production. This requirement suggests an increase in the use of pesticides, which represents an unsustainable chemical load for the environment. To reduce pesticide input and preserve the environment while maintaining the necessary level of food production, the efficiency of relevant processes must be drastically improved. Within this context, this research strived to design, develop, test and assess a new generation of automatic and robotic systems for effective weed and pest control aimed at diminishing the use of agricultural chemical inputs, increasing crop quality and improving the health and safety of production operators. To achieve this overall objective, a fleet of heterogeneous ground and aerial robots was developed and equipped with innovative sensors, enhanced end-effectors and improved decision control algorithms to cover a large variety of agricultural situations. This article describes the scientific and technical objectives, challenges and outcomes achieved in three common crops

Drones: Innovative Technology for Use in Precision Pest Management.

Arthropod pest outbreaks are unpredictable and not uniformly distributed within fields. Early outbreak detection and treatment application are inherent to effective pest management, allowing management decisions to be implemented before pests are well-established and crop losses accrue. Pest monitoring is time-consuming and may be hampered by lack of reliable or cost-effective sampling techniques. Thus, we argue that an important research challenge associated with enhanced sustainability of pest management in modern agriculture is developing and promoting improved crop monitoring procedures. Biotic stress, such as herbivory by arthropod pests, elicits physiological defense responses in plants, leading to changes in leaf reflectance. Advanced imaging technologies can detect such changes, and can, therefore, be used as noninvasive crop monitoring methods. Furthermore, novel methods of treatment precision application are required. Both sensing and actuation technologies can be mounted on equipment moving through fields (e.g., irrigation equipment), on (un)manned driving vehicles, and on small drones. In this review, we focus specifically on use of small unmanned aerial robots, or small drones, in agricultural systems. Acquired and processed canopy reflectance data obtained with sensing drones could potentially be transmitted as a digital map to guide a second type of drone, actuation drones, to deliver solutions to the identified pest hotspots, such as precision releases of natural enemies and/or precision-sprays of pesticides. We emphasize how sustainable pest management in 21st-century agriculture will depend heavily on novel technologies, and how this trend will lead to a growing need for multi-disciplinary research collaborations between agronomists, ecologists, software programmers, and engineers

Digital Inclusion of the Farming Sector Using Drone Technology

Agriculture continues to be the primary source of income for most rural people in the developing economy. The world’s economy is also strongly reliant on agricultural products, which accounts for a large number of its exports. Despite its growing importance, agriculture is still lagging behind to meet the demands due to crop failure caused by bad weather conditions and unmanaged insect problems. As a result, the quality and quantity of agricultural products are occasionally affected to reduce the farm income. Crop failure could be predicted ahead of time and preventative measures could be taken through a combination of conventional farming practices with contemporary technologies such as agri-drones to address the difficulties plaguing the agricultural sectors. Drones are actually unmanned aerial vehicles that are used for imaging, soil and crop surveillance, and a variety of other purposes in agricultural sectors. Drone technology is now becoming an emerging technology for large-scale applications in agriculture. Although the technology is still in its infancy in developing nations, numerous research and businesses are working to make it easily accessible to the farming community to boost the agricultural productivity

Advancements of Spraying Technology in Agriculture

Plant protection activities are most important practices during crop production. Application of maximum pesticide products with the sprayer. The application of fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides is one of the most recurrent and significant tasks in agriculture. Conventional agricultural spraying techniques have made the inconsistency between economic growth and environmental protection in agricultural production. Spraying techniques continuously developed in recent decades. For pesticide application, it is not the only sprayer that is essential, but all the parameters like the type and area of the plant canopy, area of a plant leaf, height of the crop, and volume of plants related to plant protection product applications are very important for obtaining better results. From this point of view, the advancement in agriculture sprayer has been started in last few decades. Robotics and automatic spraying technologies like variable rate sprayers, UAV sprayers, and electrostatic sprayers are growing to Increase the utilization rate of pesticides, reduce pesticide residues, real-time, cost-saving, high compatibility of plant protection products application. These technologies are under the “umbrella” of precision agriculture. The mechanized spraying system, usually implemented by highly precise equipment or mobile robots, which, makes possible the selective targeting of pesticide application on desire time and place. These advanced spraying technologies not only reduces the labour cost but also effective in environmental protection. Researchers are conducting experimental studies on the design, development and testing of precision spraying technologies for crops and orchards

ANALYZING SPRAY COVERAGE AND DEPOSITION USING SPRAYING DRONES IN VINEYARDS

openIn modern agriculture, the precise and efficient application of agrochemicals is vital for crop protection and productivity while minimizing environmental impact. Traditional spraying methods have long been the bedrock, but the introduction of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones, has revolutionized crop protection, offering new opportunities to improve farming practices. Agricultural drones are gaining popularity due to their precision, efficiency, and safety in chemical applications. Their use is expected to continue growing as they find more applications in precision agriculture. Hence, this thesis conducts a comprehensive investigation into spray coverage and deposition in vineyards using UAV spraying technology.In modern agriculture, the precise and efficient application of agrochemicals is vital for crop protection and productivity while minimizing environmental impact. Traditional spraying methods have long been the bedrock, but the introduction of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones, has revolutionized crop protection, offering new opportunities to improve farming practices. Agricultural drones are gaining popularity due to their precision, efficiency, and safety in chemical applications. Their use is expected to continue growing as they find more applications in precision agriculture. Hence, this thesis conducts a comprehensive investigation into spray coverage and deposition in vineyards using UAV spraying technology