Research on Methods Decreasing Pesticide Waste Based on Plant Protection Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: A Review

Abstract

In plant protection, the increasing maturity of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology has greatly increased efficiency. UAVs can adapt to multiple terrains and do not require specific take-off platforms. They do well, especially in farmland areas with rugged terrain. However, due to the complex flow field at the bottom of a UAV, some of the droplets will not reach the surface of a plant, which causes pesticide waste and environmental pollution. Droplet deposition is a good indicator of the utilization rate of pesticides; therefore, this review describes recent studies on droplet deposition for further method improvement. First, this review introduces the flight altitude, speed, and environmental factors that affect pesticide utilization efficiency and then summarizes methods to improve pesticide utilization efficiency from three aspects: nozzles, electrostatic sprays, and variable spray systems. We also point out the possible direction of algorithm development for a UAV’s precision spray.

The q-rung fuzzy LOPCOW-VIKOR model to assess the role of unmanned aerial vehicles for precision agriculture realization in the Agri-Food 4.0 era

“…However, previous research studies on the selection of UAVs used in defense (Hamurcu and Eren 2020 ; Radovanović et al 2021 ) and civil sector (Akpınar 2021 ; Ulukavak and Miman 2019 ) display that criteria such as payload capacity, maximum speed, maximum endurance, economic life, maximum altitude, and price are determinants in their selection. Based on the literature review on agricultural UAVs, evaluation criteria are especially determined based on their spraying and spreading systems (Hu et al 2022 ; Wang et al 2019 ), radar systems (Wang et al 2022a ; Yasin et al 2020 ), camera (Kim et al 2019 ; Petkovics et al 2017 ), remote control (Sinha and Dhanalakshmi 2022 ), power system (Khelifi and Butun ( 2022 ), technology (Li et al 2018 ), battery (Petkovics et al 2017 ), efficiency (Li et al 2022 ; Wang et al 2022c ), and price (Abbasi et al 2022b ).…”

“…Besides, effective spraying width is another crucial specification in planning operation routes and improving spraying quality (Chen et al 2017 ). Additionally, since the pressure of the water pump is the most significant determinant of the size of the droplets, the water pump regarding is also an essential requirement for UAVs (Hu et al 2022 ). Finally, droplet size is one of the substantial elements affecting droplet deposition and drift for spraying (Chen et al 2020 ).…”

Análise bibliométrica da produção científica sobre uso de aeronave remotamente pilotada na pulverização agrícola

“…Esse tipo de aplicação é empregado como alternativa para substituir os métodos convencionais de controles fitossanitário, por apresentar uma redução no uso de insumos, evitando assim o desperdício de produtos químicos e diminuindo a contaminação ambiental e do ser humano, além de reduzir os custos de aplicação. Não se limitando quanto à topografia do terreno, espaço de giro, padrão de cultivo e arquitetura do dossel das plantas (Hafeez et al, 2022;Hu et al, 2022;Xu et al, 2022).…”

Assessing the effectiveness of mitigating pesticide‐related disease risk among pesticide‐spraying drone operators in Taiwan

“…Currently, smart agriculture and precision agriculture, along with aerial remote sensing, are considered among the most crucial technologies 7 . In the field of plant protection, the maturing technology of unmannned aerial vehicle (UAV) has greatly enhanced spraying efficiency, and the proportion of UAV spraying in overall pest control measures has significantly increased 8 . In certain regions of Asia, where terrains are rugged and farmland is fragmented, large machinery cannot easily access these areas.…”

“…7 In the field of plant protection, the maturing technology of unmannned aerial vehicle (UAV) has greatly enhanced spraying efficiency, and the proportion of UAV spraying in overall pest control measures has significantly increased. 8 In certain regions of Asia, where terrains are rugged and farmland is fragmented, large machinery cannot easily access these areas. UAV spraying effectively addresses this challenge by offering advantages such as easy take-off and landing, high operational efficiency, flexible maneuverability, and adaptability to various terrains, ranging from paddy fields to hilly landscapes.…”