What is the current situation and development direction of agricultural plant protection drones?

With the development of technology, industry application level drones have begun to become popular and are gradually being widely used in various fields. Among them, plant protection drones play an important role in the agricultural field.

I have had discussions with various experts in the drone industry association, as well as with multiple agricultural plant protection drone companies in Shenzhen and other places. I have had discussions with core personnel of each company and invited manufacturers to present on site, thus gaining a certain understanding of the industry situation. I would like to exchange ideas with everyone here.

Firstly, plant protection drones can replace human labor and have high safety. Compared with manual operations, plant protection drones can reduce labor intensity and provide feasible solutions for rural areas with high labor costs and labor shortages. At the same time, the plant protection drone can be remotely operated, avoiding the danger of spraying operators being exposed to pesticides and ensuring the safety of the operation.

Secondly, plant protection drones can save resources and reduce pollution. The spraying technology adopts the spray spraying method. The UAV has the characteristics of low operating height, less drift, and hovering in the air. The downward airflow generated by the rotor during pesticide spraying helps to increase the penetration of the fog flow to crops, with good control effect. At the same time, it can save 50% of the pesticide usage and 90% of the water consumption, greatly reducing the resource cost.

Thirdly, plant protection drones have strong adaptability and are easy to promote. It is suitable for low stem crops such as wheat, soybeans, and rice, as well as high stem crops such as corn, cotton, sorghum, and forest fruit belts. It is also suitable for operations in hilly and mountainous areas. Due to its strong adaptability, without the need for a dedicated terminal, it can fly near the ground and hover in the air. It is small in size and light in weight, and can be used for cross regional transfer operations with a van, making it easy to promote and popularize.

Fourthly, plant protection drones have excellent prevention and control effects. The downward airflow generated by drone flight can blow the blades, allowing both the front and back sides of the blades to be coated with pesticides. The prevention and control effect is improved by 15% to 35% compared to manual and mechanical methods, and the prevention and control effect for sudden and explosive diseases and pests is good, not limited by crop growth.

Finally, plant protection drones have efficient automation characteristics. With the transfer of land, more and more large farms will continue to emerge, requiring higher levels of mechanization and automation in the planting industry. The plant protection drone operation adopts flight control navigation for autonomous operation. Before spraying, the GPS information of crops in the farmland is collected into the control program and the route is planned. The drone can basically achieve automatic operation, reducing the difficulty of operation for operators.

The drone technology in agriculture is an important component of agricultural production in relevant departments, and the application of drones in agriculture will continue to increase. Agricultural drones have a high degree of automation mainly through remote control or GPS flight control, and have good development prospects.