Traditional
pesticide spraying methods such as knapsack sprayers
are inefficient. Ground application equipment is restricted by the
terrain and damages the crops. Pesticides cannot be sprayed over a
large area in a short time; thus, when there are concentrated outbreaks
of pests with strong migration capacity, such as
Spodoptera
frugiperda
, pests could not be controlled in a small
area. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve a satisfactory control
effect. Plant protection unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have high
efficiency and spray pesticides at low altitude and can suitably prevent
and control the outbreak of pests. However, pesticide formulations
suitable for UAVs are rare. In this study, we developed ultralow-volume
(ULV) sprays suitable for plant protection UAVs. We studied their
properties and found that the ULV sprays have good wettability and
can be fully spread. The minimum contact angle on corn leaves is up
to 19°, and the maximum retention is 2.7 times that of the reference
product. They also have superior resistance to rain washout and can
effectively extend the duration and utilization of pesticides. When
sprayed by plant protection UAVs, the decrease rate of the ULV spray
at 3 L/ha to
S. frugiperda
larvae is
81.31% and the control effect is 83.01%, both higher than those of
the reference product 40% chlorantraniliprole–thiamethoxam
water-dispersible granules (decrease rate 67.39%, control effect 70.35%),
sprayed with a knapsack sprayer.