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The use of Unmanned Aerial Application Systems (UAAS) has increased rapidly in agriculture in recent years. Information regarding their spray performance, as influenced by operational parameters, is important to understand for their effective utilization. A study was conducted to assess the spray characteristics of two commercial UAAS platforms (TTA M4E and DJI Agras T30) using three different nozzle types, flight speeds, and application heights. Spray deposition was recorded across the swath to assess and compare spray behavior under these selected varying operational parameters. In-swath deposition uniformity was evaluated using the coefficient of variation (CV) for different theoretical effective swaths computed from single-pass spray patterns. The results indicated a highly variable spray deposition with the majority of coverage concentrated directly below the UAAS flight path. Coarser droplets produced by the AIXR (Air-Induction Extended Range) and TTI (Turbo Teejet Induction) nozzles exhibited greater coverage directly under the UAAS while finer droplets from the XR (Extended Range) nozzle showed improved uniformity across wider swaths. Coverage decreased with an increase in flight speed for both platforms. Application height had no effect on spray coverage for the TTA M4E, but coverage increased with height for the DJI Agras T30 within the tested range. Both increased flight speed (5.0 and 6.7 m s -1 for the TTA M4E and DJI Agras T30, respectively) and height (3.0 m for both the TTA M4E and DJI Agras T30) showed increased uniformity. Among the tested parameters, only a few exhibited an acceptable variability (CV≤25%) within the range of theoretical effective swaths. The TTA M4E had a CV<25% for the flight speeds of 3.4 and 5.0 m s -1 , and a height of 3.0 m at an effective swath of 2.0 m. In contrast, the 2.3 and 3.0 m heights, XR and TTI nozzles, and 4.5 and 6.7 m s -1 speeds exhibited acceptable variability for the DJI Agras T30 for an effective swath of 4.0 m. For both UAAS, none of the tested parameters had an acceptable CV (≤25%) at the widest swath (4.0 and 9.0 m for the TTA M4E and DJI Agras T30, respectively) recommended by the manufacturer.

Production agriculture has recently witnessed exponential growth in the use of UAS technology to obtain site-specific, real-time spectral reflectance data for the management of spatial and temporal variability in agricultural ecosystems. The integration of this novel technology and remotely piloted aerial application systems (RPAASs) for pest management requires data curation on spray pattern uniformity, droplet distribution and the operational factors governing such data. The effects of application height and ground speed on spray pattern uniformity and droplet spectra characteristics for four commercially available RPAAS platforms configured with four different payload capacities (5, 10, 15 and 20 L) and factory-supplied nozzles were investigated. Spray pattern was determined by a cotton string deposition analysis system. Spray droplets captured on water-sensitive paper cards were analyzed using a computer-based scanner system. The test results indicated that each RPAAS platform of varying payload capacity was able to produce an acceptable spray pattern. As the payload capacity increased, so did the effective swath. However, the effective swath was comparable between 15 and 20 L units. The theoretical spray application rate decreased with ground speed. The fundamental data reported here may provide guidance to aerial applicators and help in the furtherance of RPAASs as an effective pest management tool.

Aerial applications of a registered formulation of synthetic spruce budworm female sex pheromone were made in 2008, 2013 and 2014 to disrupt mating in populations of this forest insect pest in Quebec, Canada. Each year, the applications resulted in a 90% reduction in captures of male spruce budworm moths in pheromone-baited traps. A commensurate reduction in mating success among virgin females held in individual cages at mid-crown of host trees was also obtained. However, there was no reduction in the populations of eggs or overwintering larvae in the following generation (late summer and fall). The failure of this approach as a viable tactic for spruce budworm population reduction could have resulted from considerable immigration of mated females, as evidenced by high rates of immigration and emigration that caused steep negative relationships between apparent fecundity and the density of locally emerged adults.

Automation is a new frontier in specialty agriculture equipment. Specifically, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), machine vision and robotics will increasingly appear in sustainable agricultural systems. The use of small UAVs retrofitted with spraying systems allows precision aerial applications on small targets. These precision applications can result in significant cost savings and reductions in risk to operators during treatments. This paper presents a novel and practical design and development of a small application system capable of being mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle for agrochemical spraying tasks and an analysis of the quality of the application and economic costs in olive and citrus orchards compared with those of a conventional treatment. Once the equipment had been developed, field trials in super-high-density olive and citrus orchards were undertaken to evaluate the spray deposition efficiency. For comparison with a conventional hydro-pneumatic sprayer, the field tests took into account parameters such as the applied volume rate, spray drift, application time and equipment costs and depreciation. The results obtained indicate that there was a 7 €/ha difference in the application costs between the aerial vehicle and conventional equipment. It is hoped that the conclusions of this work will serve as the basis for a debate about the existing legislation governing this type of aerial work, which can be beneficial in specific cases and should be carried out in a safe and legal manner.

Invasive organisms pose a global threat and are exceptionally difficult to eradicate after they become abundant in their new habitats. We report a successful multitactic strategy for combating the pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella), one of the world’s most invasive pests. A coordinated program in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico included releases of billions of sterile pink bollworm moths from airplanes and planting of cotton engineered to produce insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). An analysis of computer simulations and 21 y of field data from Arizona demonstrate that the transgenic Bt cotton and sterile insect releases interacted synergistically to reduce the pest’s population size. In Arizona, the program started in 2006 and decreased the pest’s estimated statewide population size from over 2 billion in 2005 to zero in 2013. Complementary regional efforts eradicated this pest throughout the cotton-growing areas of the continental United States and northern Mexico a century after it had invaded both countries. The removal of this pest saved farmers in the United States $192 million from 2014 to 2019. It also eliminated the environmental and safety hazards associated with insecticide sprays that had previously targeted the pink bollworm and facilitated an 82% reduction in insecticides used against all cotton pests in Arizona. The economic and social benefits achieved demonstrate the advantages of using agricultural biotechnology in concert with classical pest control tactics.

Agricultural use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in China has risen recently with the increased demand for precision agriculture. The focus of UAS use in China is on improving the efficiency of crop production and reducing environmental harm from runoff related to current crop management activities. This use will keep increasing with the support of new policies on land transfer and appropriately scaled operations for farming in the near future. A major agricultural application of UAS in China is plant protection, toward increasing pest and disease management efficiency. The advantages of UAS are apparent in the country, which has the largest number of small-sized farms in the world. UAS in China have advantages for farms in mountainous regions and orchard production, where it is difficult for ground-based machines to manoeuvre. Advances of UAS use in the country have created new challenges to the agricultural aviation industry in crop monitoring, pest sampling, pest detection, pest diagnosis and spraying technology. This article reviews the agricultural use of UAS in China, with a focus on plant protection. The challenges and prospects of UAS use in the country are also summarised.

In recent years, as an important part of precision agricultural aviation, the plant protection unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been widely studied and applied worldwide, especially in East Asia. Banana, as a typical large broad-leaved crop, has high requirements for pests and diseases control. The mechanization degree of plant protection management in banana orchard is low. Therefore, our study focuses on the effects of different flight heights (3-5 m) and droplet sizes (50-150 μm) of plant protection UAV on the droplet deposition distribution characteristics of banana canopy. And the droplet deposition distribution in banana canopy and spraying drift of plant protection UAV and ground air-assisted sprayer were compared. The results showed that droplet size was the main factor affecting droplet deposition density, coverage, uniformity and penetration on both sides of banana canopy leaves. The droplet deposition density and coverage on the adaxial side of leaves were mostly significantly larger than that on the abaxial side. The flight height of 4 m and the droplet size of 100 μm could make the adaxial side of banana canopy leaves have higher droplet deposition density (63.77 droplets per square cm) and coverage (12.75%), and can make the droplets effectively deposit on the abaxial side of banana canopy leaves, with droplet deposition density of 17.46 droplets per square cm and coverage of 1.24%. Choosing an appropriate flight height and a droplet size could improve the droplet deposition uniformity on both sides of banana canopy leaves, but the improvement was not significant. Moreover, at a same operational parameter combination, it was difficult to achieve the best droplet deposition density, coverage, uniformity and penetration at the same time. In addition, appropriately increasing the flight height and droplet size could help to improve the droplet deposition penetration on the adaxial side of banana canopy leaves, but there were few significant improvements. Compared with the plant protection UAV, the ground air-assisted sprayer had higher droplet deposition density and coverage on the abaxial side of banana canopy leaves, but had smaller droplet deposition coverage on the adaxial side. The droplet deposition density and coverage on the abaxial side of banana canopy leaves were obviously larger than the adaxial side during the spraying of ground air-assisted sprayer. The droplet drift distance of the ground air-assisted sprayer was farther than the plant protection UAV. The test results of this study can provide practical and data support for the UAV aerial application in banana orchard, and provide a valuable reference for the implementation of air-ground cooperation spraying strategy in banana orchard, which is of great significance to promote sustainable and intelligent phytoprotection of banana orchard.

Pesticide drift has been a concern since the introduction of pesticides. Historical incidences with off-target movement of 2,4-D and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) have increased our understanding of pesticide fate in the atmosphere following aerial application. More recent incidences with dicamba have brought to light gaps in our current understanding of aerial pesticide movement following ground application. In this paper, we review the current understanding of inversions and other weather and environmental factors that contribute to secondary pesticide movement and raise questions that need to be addressed. Factors that influence volatility and terminology associated with the atmosphere, such as cool air drainage, temperature inversions, and radiation cooling will be discussed. We also present literature that highlights the need to consider the role(s) of wind in secondary drift in addition to the role in physical drift. With increased awareness of pesticide movement and more herbicide-resistant traits available than ever before, it has become even more essential that we understand secondary movement of pesticides, recognize our gaps in understanding, and advance from what is currently unknown. Nomenclature: dicamba; 2, 4-D; dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane

Pesticide application by unmanned agricultural aerial vehicles (UAVs) has rapidly developed in China and other Asian counties. Currently, tank-mix spray adjuvants are usually added into pesticide solutions to reduce spray drift and facilitate droplet deposition and control efficacy. The currently used tank-mix adjuvants are all derived from conventional ground sprays, and their mechanisms of action in aerial applications are still unclear. In order to clarify the spraying characteristics and control efficacy of those adjuvants in aerial sprays, the performances of various types of tank-mix adjuvants were compared by analyzing droplet spectrum, drift potential index (DIX) in a wind tunnel, field deposition and control efficacy on wheat rust and aphids. The atomization results showed that the addition of adjuvants could change the droplet spectrum of liquid, and the results suggest that droplet size is an effective indicator of spray drift potential. In the field application, the meteorological conditions are complex and uncontrollable, and the effects of adjuvants on droplet deposition and distribution were not significant. Compared with the control solution, there was no significant difference in the deposition amount of each adjuvant solution, and the CVs of deposition were higher than 30%. Adding adjuvants to the spray solution can significantly improve the control efficacy of pesticides on wheat aphids and rust and also prolong the duration of the pesticide. Our results suggest that tank-mix adjuvants should be added when UAVs are used for aerial application. This study can be used as a reference to the research and development or selection of adjuvants in aerial sprays of UAVs.