Challenges and opportunities of unmanned aerial vehicles as a new tool for crop pest control

The application of pesticides is not simply delivering chemicals to the target area. It also involves considering the negative aspects and developing strategies to deal with them during the application process, to ensure the maximization of pesticides use efficiency and the maintenance of the ecosystem. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sprayers demonstrate unique advantages compared to traditional ground sprayers, particularly in terms of maneuverability and labor intensity reduction, showed great potential for chemical application in pest control. It is undeniable that there exist challenges in the practice of UAV spraying, such as higher potential risks of pesticide drift or pathogen transmission, uncertainty canopy deposition for different crops, and unexpected leaf breakage induced by downwash flow. Maximizing the utilization of downwash flow while avoiding lateral air movement outside the intended target crop area is a major issue for chemical application with UAV sprayers, particularly in light of the increasingly apparent consensus on the need for enhanced environmental protection during the chemical application process. It must be considered that the operation strategy in different scenarios and for different crop targets is not the same, unique requirements should be given on nozzle atomization, flight parameters, adjuvants and aircraft types in specific working situations. In future, the implementation of spray drift prediction, technical procedures development, and other solutions aimed at reducing pesticide drift and improving deposition quality, is expected to promote the adoption of UAV sprayers by more farmers. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.     

植保施药机械喷雾雾滴飘移研究进展

中国农药产品80％以上通过喷雾方式施用,药液从喷头到靶标作物过程中产生的随风飘移和蒸发飘移是农药造成人畜健康风险、生态环境破坏的重要因素之一.随着航空施药技术的发展,解决或减少喷雾雾滴飘移的问题成为施药技术研究的重点和热点.基于此,本文分别从喷雾雾滴(尺寸分布、黏度、表面张力、蒸气压、挥发性、密度等)、喷雾模式(喷头类...     

航空喷雾植保技术的发展与探讨

航空喷雾在我国农作物病、虫、草害防治中得到了广泛应用。为促进航空喷雾技术的发展,本文对国内外航空喷雾的发展历程、作业技术以及作业设备进行了简要概述和总结,并结合我国航空植保技术的现状,在航空喷雾作业机型、应用技术以及作业装置等方面进行了探讨。通过综述分析,作者认为在我国航空喷雾技术领域,应重视和逐步发展直升机、无人机的应用,加强作业设备控制系统的研发和喷洒部件的系列化与配套,深入进行航空喷雾飘移控制技术研究,以提高我国航空植保应用水平。     

多旋翼植保无人机喷施新烟碱类杀虫剂对蜜蜂的飘移风险

为明确植保无人机喷施新烟碱类杀虫剂对非靶标生物蜜蜂的飘移风险,在田间试验场景下,比较分析多旋翼植保无人机和背负式电动喷雾器喷施新烟碱类杀虫剂时的雾滴飘移量及对蜜蜂的影响。结果表明：应用背负式电动喷雾器和多旋翼植保无人机进行施药作业时,距离施药区下风向5 m处的雾滴飘移率分别为0.50%和23.98%;而多旋翼植保无人机施药时,即使距离施药区下风向17 m处的雾滴飘移率仍高达2.79%,且多旋翼植保无人机施药时的飘移总量显著高于背负式电动喷雾器。喷施新烟碱类杀虫剂时,应用背负式电动喷雾器作业时距离下风向5 m处的蜜蜂在施药后1 d内的死亡数量为75头,分别是距离下风向17 m处和对照组的2.4倍和1.8倍,施药后2~8 d内蜜蜂的死亡数量与对照组无明显差异;应用多旋翼植保无人机作业时距离下风向5 m处的蜜蜂在施药后1 d内的死亡数量为4 721头,分别是距离下风向17 m、29 m处和对照组的3.0倍、6.1倍和112.4倍,施药后2~8 d内蜜蜂的死亡数量明显降低,但距离施药区较近的蜜蜂其死亡数量明显高于对照组,表明多旋翼植保无人机喷施新烟碱类杀虫剂对蜜蜂存在较高的飘移风险。     

Development and assessment of a novel servo-controlled spraying system for real time adjustment of the orientation angle of the nozzles of a boom sprayer

Background

Pesticide spray drift, which is the movement of pesticide by wind to any location other than the intended area, is hazardous to human, animal, food safety and environmental health. It is not possible to completely eliminate spray drift during spraying with field crop sprayers, but spray drift can be reduced by developing new technologies. The most common methods to reduce spray drift are carrying the droplets to the target with air-assisted spraying, electrostatic spraying, preferring air induction nozzles and boom shields. With these methods, it is not possible to make a change on the sprayer depending on the wind intensity during spraying. In this study, a novel servo-controlled spraying system was designed and developed to change the nozzle orientation angle in the reverse direction of the wind current to reduce the ground spray drift in real time and automatically in a wind tunnel. The displacement in the spray pattern (D_c) was used as a ground drift indicator for each nozzle to evaluate the spray drift.

Results

The developed system, operated by LabVIEW software, calculated different nozzle orientation angles depending on nozzle types, wind velocities and spraying pressures. Orientation angles calculated for different test conditions achieved in reduction were up to 49.01% for XR11002 nozzle, 32.82% for AIXR11002 nozzle and 32.31% for TTJ6011002 nozzle at 400 kPa spray pressure and 2.5 m s⁻¹ wind velocity.

Conclusion

The developed system, which has a self-decision mechanism, calculated the nozzle orientation angle instantaneously according to the wind velocity. It has been observed that the adjustable spraying nozzle system, sprayed with high precision towards the wind in the wind tunnel, and the developed system have advantages compared to conventional spraying systems. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.     

植保无人飞机施用农药应用研究进展及管理现状

植保无人飞机是现代植保施药机械,具有作业效率高、精准、节水省药、灵活机动和对施药人员安全等特点,然而,与传统施药方式不同,其用水量少,喷施农药浓度高,喷雾易飘移,存在潜在的应用风险。目前关于植保无人飞机施药应用研究主要集中在雾滴沉积分布、飘移影响因素和防治效果评价等领域,有关其在膳食风险、环境风险和职业暴露健康风险评估等方面研究较少,且药剂登记和管理标准法规等相对滞后。为全面了解植保无人飞机施药应用以及管理现状,本文综述了植保无人飞机施药应用、风险研究及国际航空植保农药登记管理情况,总结了我国在该领域发展潜力和管理建议,以期为我国植保无人飞机安全施用农药和登记科学管理提供参考。     

Pedestrian sprayers: equipment for ultra-low and very-low volume spraying1

Plant protection products often need to be applied to small areas, inaccessible to vehicular equipment, hence the need for manually carried equipment. While there are lever-operated knapsack and compression sprayers using conventional hydraulic nozzles, reduced-volume applications have been developed in combination with the use of rotary atomizers to provide a narrow droplet spectrum. Most of the initial development of these hand-carried battery-operated spinning disc sprayers was for their use in the semi-arid tropics to apply insecticides to cotton in the absence of plentiful water supplies. This continues to be the main market for these sprayers, although the trend recently has been away from oil-based ultra-low volume formulations to very-low volume spraying (typically 5-1 5 litre ha¹) of water-based formulations to reduce costs and allow greater flexibility in choice of insecticide in integrated pest management programmes. Changes in equipment design have been made to suit this change in spray volume and formulation. Air-assisted sprayers have also been used in glasshouses. Subsequent development of rotary atomizers operated at slower speeds has led to the equipment being used for herbicide application. especially in forestry and urban situations where low weight of equipment and drift reduction have been important considerations. Formulations prepacked in containers to connect directly to the sprayers have been used to reduce operator contamination.     

Crop Desiccation with Minimum Spray Drift1

Chemical desiccation with Regione (diquat) of oilseed crops prior to harvesting is now a well established farming practice. The many varied practical (and economic) advantages give the farmer more flexibility and control in planning his operations at a particularly busy time of year. However, desiccants are not selective of green plant tissue, so it is important that the spray is confined to the target crop. Spray drift is not normally a problem with ground spraying, but with aerial application particular care in the selection of equipment, flying technique, and climatic conditions is essential. This is particularly important when desiccating early maturing crops, such as oil-seed rape, when other crops, for example sugar beet and maize, are still green and growing. The potential spray drift risk can be reduced by planting similar crops in large blocks rather than in fragmented strips throughout the farm. By restricting the length of spray boom on the aircraft, using efficient diaphragm shut-off nozzles angled rearwards to the airstream, fitted with nozzles such as spraying Systems D8 or 10 with 46 or 56 swirl plates operating at maximum pressure of 2 bar, much of the drift hazard resulting from the equipment can be reduced. It is essential that the spray is turned on/off only in level flight and that the height of the spray boom above the top of the crop is less than 2.5 m. Spraying should only be carried out in wind speeds of 1-4 m/s and never under temperature inversion conditions. Large helicopters should only be used discriminately in very large areas of crop.     

冠层推拨装置对喷杆喷雾机雾滴飘失与沉积特性的影响

喷杆喷雾机具有作业效率高、雾滴覆盖率高、沉积分布均匀、防治效果好等优点,是目前大田作物最主要的施药机具.但受作物冠层遮挡和侧风等气象条件的影响,导致喷杆喷雾机作业时雾滴难以穿透到植株中下部并伴随飘失.为改善喷杆喷雾机喷雾雾滴在作物冠层的穿透性并降低飘移量,本文优化设计了一种适用于大田作物的喷杆喷雾机冠层推拨装置.并分别...     

Plant Protection Equipment Developed and Used in Norway1

The Norwegian Institute of Agricultural Engineering has developed spraying equipment for particular uses, based on the adaptation of ordinary crop sprayers. Tractor-mounted sprayers are described for spraying brassicas and carrots against Delia spp., strawberries against mites and Botrytis cinerea , and for making regular applications on blackcurrant plantations. A special « boat-shaped >> sprayer has been developed for use in forest nurseries, both to apply insecticides against beetle attack and to apply herbicides. Nursery plants can alternatively be insecticide-sprayed before planting in a specially-designed spray chamber.     

Biological responses to glyphosate drift from aerial application in non‐glyphosate‐resistant corn

BACKGROUND: Glyphosate drift from aerial application onto susceptible crops is inevitable, yet the biological responses to glyphosate drift in crops are not well characterized. The objectives of this research were to determine the effects of glyphosate drift from a single aerial application (18.3 m swath, 866 g AE ha^?1) on corn injury, chlorophyll content, shikimate level, plant height and shoot dry weight in non‐glyphosate‐resistant (non‐GR) corn. RESULTS: One week after application (WAA), corn was killed at 3 m from the edge of the spray swath, with injury decreasing to 18% at 35.4 m downwind. Chlorophyll content decreased from 78% at 6 m to 22% at 15.8 m, and it was unaffected beyond 25.6 m at 1 WAA. Shikimate accumulation in corn decreased from 349% at 0 m to 93% at 15.8 m, and shikimate levels were unaffected beyond 25.6 m downwind. Plant height and shoot dry weight decreased gradually with increasing distance. At a distance of 35.4 m, corn height was reduced by 14% and shoot dry weight by 10% at 3 WAA. CONCLUSIONS: Corn injury and other biological responses point to the same conclusion, that is, injury from glyphosate aerial drift is highest at the edge of the spray swath and decreases gradually with distance. The LD₅₀ (the lethal distance that drift must travel to cause a 50% reduction in biological response) ranged from 12 to 26 m among the biological parameters when wind speed was 11.2 km h^?1 and using a complement of CP‐09 spray nozzles on spray aircraft. Published 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Technical review of the EPPO Workshop on Application Technology in Plant Protection1

The presentations. discussions and exhibition of equipment of the EPPO Workshop on Application Technology in Plant Protection were orientated towards field sprayers. air-assisted sprayers. pedestrian equipment, and aerial applications. An evaluation of this equipment is given here on the basis of six criteria: general remarks. quality of application. contamination of the environment/operator exposure, EPPO/EU/national difkrences, innovations, need for future action. There are some deficiencies in the generally accepted rules for the application of plant protection products. Correcting these could be a task for technical experts from EPPO countries in future.     

Exposure assessment for terrestrial non-target arthropods

Concerns regarding the potential of pesticides to harm terrestrial non-target arthropod populations have led to the increased use of ecotoxicological test systems for terrestrial Non-target Arthropod risk assessment. Whilst some useful guidance on terrestrial invertebrate test systems is available, there are significant gaps in guidance for terrestrial non-target arthropod exposure estimates. The typical exposure in the standard test systems is by application of the test substance at the field rate (i. e. gram substance per hectare field) on to a two dimensional surface. However, under field conditions such a spray deposit will be diluted over the total available 3-Dimensional plant and soil surface. The recommendation is to use published leaf area index and crop interception values to standardize terrestrial dilution factors, which can then be used to predict exposure on a 3-Dimensional plant surface. Based on average crop/time specific LAI data for 26 crops, a surrogate off-crop dilution factor of 12 was calculated which can be used to convert 2-Dimensional spray drift exposure to 3-Dimensional off-crop plant surface exposure. Another significant terrestrial exposure guidance gap is how to calculate predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) for multiple application products. Based on spray interval and half-life data from 32 representative multiple application plant protection products, the typical worst-case PECs for accumulation of residues were calculated after up to 8 applications. These data showed that Multiple Application Factors (MAFs = accumulated PEC/initial PEC), increased from 1 to 3.5 after 1 to 8 applications, respectively. Finally, overall 90^th percentile spray deposit values have been proposed for deriving off-crop multiple applications PECs (1 to 8 applications) based on published spray drift data. The recommended equations for terrestrial exposure assessment include the use of:-application rate, the 90^th percentile drift value, the multiple application factors (MAF) and the standard dilution factor (for 3-Dimensional plant surface). This proposed terrestrial non-target arthropod exposure scheme is comparable with other first tier exposure assessment schemes eg aquatic exposure assessment.     

Exposure assessment for terrestrial non-target arthropods

Concerns regarding the potential of pesticides to harm terrestrial non-target arthropod populations have led to the increased use of ecotoxicological test systems for terrestrial Non-target Arthropod risk assessment. Whilst some useful guidance on terrestrial invertebrate test systems is available, there are significant gaps in guidance for terrestrial non-target arthropod exposure estimates. The typical exposure in the standard test systems is by application of the test substance at the field rate (i. e. gram substance per hectare field) on to a two dimensional surface. However, under field conditions such a spray deposit will be diluted over the total available 3-Dimensional plant and soil surface. The recommendation is to use published leaf area index and crop interception values to standardize terrestrial dilution factors, which can then be used to predict exposure on a 3-Dimensional plant surface. Based on average crop/time specific LAI data for 26 crops, a surrogate off-crop dilution factor of 12 was calculated which can be used to convert 2-Dimensional spray drift exposure to 3-Dimensional off-crop plant surface exposure. Another significant terrestrial exposure guidance gap is how to calculate predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) for multiple application products. Based on spray interval and half-life data from 32 representative multiple application plant protection products, the typical worst-case PECs for accumulation of residues were calculated after up to 8 applications. These data showed that Multiple Application Factors (MAFs = accumulated PEC/initial PEC), increased from 1 to 3.5 after 1 to 8 applications, respectively. Finally, overall 90^th percentile spray deposit values have been proposed for deriving off-crop multiple applications PECs (1 to 8 applications) based on published spray drift data. The recommended equations for terrestrial exposure assessment include the use of:-application rate, the 90^th percentile drift value, the multiple application factors (MAF) and the standard dilution factor (for 3-Dimensional plant surface). This proposed terrestrial non-target arthropod exposure scheme is comparable with other first tier exposure assessment schemes eg aquatic exposure assessment.     

Application of plant protection products by helicopter in Germany (legislation,requirements, guidelines,use in vineyards and forests,drift)1

In Germany, application of plant protection products by helicopter is only common in steep-sloped vineyards and in forests, where the use of conventional sprayers is nearly impossible. Because environment pollution, especially drift, is much higher than with ground equipment, the use of helicopters is subject to plant protection legislation as well as to air traffic regulations. BBA guidelines have been developed for application of plant protection products with aircraft. Each air-borne application must be based on a contract respecting these guidelines and must be reported to the proper authorities and announced to the public. The working airfields must be properly equipped and applications may only be performed under authorized weather conditions. The equipment of the aircraft must fulfil standards, especially for the spray tanks, the spray boom and the control devices, and so must the service stations on the ground.     

A NEW TECHNIQUE FOR THE ACCURATE AERIAL APPLICATION OF HERBICIDES TO DRAINAGE CHANNELS WITH NEGLIGIBLE SPRAY DRIFT

Summary. Difficulties of access met with in Britain when applying dalapon to emergent water weeds in drainage channels led to work starting in 1964 on the development of a method of accurate aerial application of aqueous solutions of herbicide. The narrow, sinuous nature of the targets and the proximity of susceptible crops made it necessary to minimize spray drift and maintain a constant height and a slow speed. Nozzles designed to give large droplets were tested for droplet size and distribution. Selected nozzles were then tested from a helicopter in the field and the effect of their spray characteristics on the biological performance of dalapon was assessed. No daman occurred as a result of spray drift and satisfactory control of Phragmites communis, Typha angustifolia and T. latifolia was achieved with a lower dose of dalapon in a lower volume of spray than previously considered necessary for ground applications.
Une nouvelle technique pour l'application précise d'herbicides par voie aérienne sur les canaux de drainage, avec des risques négligeables d'entrainement     

植保无人机施药沉积飘移监测系统设计与应用

为提升植保无人机施药沉积飘移监测智能化水平,研发植保无人机施药沉积飘移监测系统,该系统机载监测终端实时获取药械状态参数、植保无人机状态参数及位置参数,通过数据处理服务系统将其发送至平台软件,基于作业参数利用沉积飘移预测模型实时监测药液沉积区域及飘移范围。该系统同时具有作业面积计量、飞行轨迹回溯、作业质量空间分析等功能。2015年4月于山东省威海市文登区泽头镇眠虎岭区域对该系统进行性能测试,植保无人机规划靶区作业面积为433 hm²,最终监测作业面积为405 hm²,施药覆盖率为93.5%;施药过程中实时监测沉积区域和飘移范围,受环境侧风影响,药液最大飘移距离可达40 m,系统整体达到预期设计要求。截至目前该系统已在山东、安徽、江苏、云南、河南、浙江、天津等多个省市应用。     

植保无人飞机低空低容量喷雾技术应用与展望

近十年来,我国植保无人飞机迅猛发展,应用的农作物范围越来越广,不仅在水稻、小麦、玉米等主要粮食作物得到了应用,在橡胶、槟榔等高大植株的病虫害防治中更有其独特优势,已经初步形成了我国植保无人飞机低空低容量喷雾的喷头配置、配套药剂、飞防助剂、作业参数等技术体系,对于重要农作物病虫害如稻纵卷叶螟、水稻纹枯病、小麦蚜虫、玉米黏虫等防治效果均在80%以上,在各地病虫害防控中发挥了重要作用。但是,植保无人飞机喷雾作业过程中,还存在炸机或失控、雾滴飘移药害、药液分层结块、防治效果不稳定等问题。通过汇总分析植保无人飞机在重要病虫草害防治工作的成功经验和安全事故,本文提出植保无人飞机低容量喷雾技术将会得到更广泛的应用,植保无人飞机专用药剂和配套助剂、变量施药、多传感器数据融合、多机协同、精准施药、施药标准和规范等都将得到长足的发展,为现代农业和智慧农业发展提供技术支持。     

Recent Developments in Pesticide Application by the United States Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service1

Aerial application of pesticides is generally the method used by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the control of pests of rangeland, cultivated crops, and forested areas. With increased restrictions placed on pesticides, then- continued use requires improved application technology to meet acceptable levels of risk at reasonable cost The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of USDA is developing an aerial spray drift model for use by their field personnel to minimize drift from aerial application of pesticides to environmentally sensitive areas. Input information utilizing a low cost, field-deployable microcomputer includes aircraft type, application technique and hardware, pesticide formulation, meteorological conditions, and type (roughness) and extent of the site. Expected output computations will be: 1) distribution pattern of downwind deposition, including evaporation corrections and matching to empirical field measurement; 2) optimal aircraft swath spacing; and 3) buffer distance between the target area and the environmentally sensitive areas.     

Test results of electronic control units for field sprayers and future trends1

The BBA has designed and contructed it test stand for thc electronic control units of field sprayers, and drawn up test guidelines. The dynamic and static characteristics of 10 electronic control units on the market have recently been examined. Examples of the results of these examinations are given. Future trends in the field of electronically controlled field sprayers are discussed. The present stand-alone units will be replaced by the agricultural BUS system (LBS) (DIN 9684 and ISO/TC23/SC19/WGI). Satellite position-finding systems (c.g. GPS) may be used. Specifications can be developed for site-specific application of plant protection products, initially including simultaneous dosage of several products and site characteristics. It is doubtful for the moment whether such systems can react to the state of the crop or to indices of pest presence.