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Agricultural Drone Industry Insight Report (2021)

DJI Official — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 11:58:27 +0000

I. Industry background

(I) From "plant protection drones" to "agricultural drones"

As early as 1987, Japan developed the world’s first plant protection drone, selling them in limited quantities the following year. Of the nearly 5 million hectares of arable land in Japan today, over 20% uses plant protection drones to control pests and weeds. Drones have become an important plant protection technology measure in Japan.

China’s plant protection drones began to develop in 2007, and in 2010, the 3CD-10 single-rotor gasoline-powered plant protection drone produced by Wuxi Hanhe Aviation was exhibited for the first time at the National Agricultural Machinery Expo. This was the first drone of its kind sold in China, opening the first step of commercializing plant protection drones in the country.

In 2012, DJI applied the world’s superior drone technology to agriculture and founded DJI Agriculture in 2015 with the release of the MG-. In 2015, XAG released its plant protection drones and established XAG Agricultural Services. Today, several drone companies are dedicated to providing users with agricultural solutions based on drone technology to drive innovation and progress in global agriculture.

With the rapid development of plant protection drones, smarter products have been created to serve a wider range of needs and applications. In addition to spraying pesticides, plant protection can also spread fertilizer, seeds, and feed. As a result, the term “plant protection drone” is gradually being replaced by the broader term “agricultural drone.”

2021 was a year of rapid development of agricultural drones worldwide, which is a quantitative leap compared to 2020 in terms of the total number of drones and operating areas. Drones are particularly suitable for scenarios where it is difficult to get down to the ground with manual and ground machinery, such as paddy fields, tall straw crops, and mountainous terrain. In Southeast Asia, where rice is a staple crop, drones are gaining recognition from more and more farmers. Operations have grown rapidly, as agricultural drones are suitable for sowing rice fields and controlling pests throughout the crop growth cycle. The application of agricultural drones in flat farmland such as wheat and rice is quickly gaining popularity, and with the continuous improvement of technology, the application has been expanded in complex scenarios such as hilly mountain orchards.

In Europe, many vineyards have steep mountainous terrain where ground machinery is not available, so most work is done by hand, with high labor and time costs. In Hallau, in the canton of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland, the preservation of traditional farming practices also poses a challenge for efficient management of local vineyards. To ensure yields, vineyard managers spray pesticides every season. Previously, this work was mainly done manually by hired workers in an inefficient, physically demanding process. The growing season typically required 8-10 sprays, each of which took more than 10 days, and if not sprayed in a timely manner, grape mold could affect a season’s wine production and harvest, but also vineyard income for years to come.

Hallau is located in the mountainous northern region, whose terrain was challenging for ground-based vehicles. On some steep slopes, a vehicle can easily tip over, threatening the driver’s safety. The invocation of drone management to maintain the original ecology of the vineyard to the maximum extent is a new attempt to integrate the traditional culture of the local vineyard with modern technology. This was also the first time that Chinese intelligent agricultural equipment entered the local agricultural production in Switzerland.

(II) Key concerns for industry development

1. Regulation and policy

Agricultural drones, as the name implies, are drones used in agriculture. Their purpose places them in the category of agricultural equipment, which is managed by the agricultural department; when it sprays pesticides, it has potential environmental risks, which are managed by the environmental protection department. At the same time, their operational attributes belong to the aircraft category and is managed by the civil aviation authority. This characteristic of agricultural drones, which is managed by multiple authorities, leads to the fact that laws and policies play an important role in the development of the industry.

The management of agricultural drones as agricultural equipment is a common method all over the world, while each country’s management methods differ by some degree. Some countries adopt compulsory certification, some apply for simple written materials, while others use administrative authorization. Nevertheless, it represents the Ministry of Agriculture’s management and approval of agricultural drones.

As a kind of aircraft, an agricultural drone is managed by civil aviation authorities of various countries in its operation. There are three common ways of management. The first is to exempt agricultural drones with low-risk operations in the existing legal system, such as the United States. The second is to require drones above 25 kg to carry out a Safe Operation Risk Analysis (SORA). This assessment focuses on operational risk and analyzes and approves the operational risk of individual cases, which is widely used in European countries. The third is to simplify the airworthiness rules of traditional aircraft and generate a simplified version of airworthiness requirements that apply to agricultural drones, such as Brazil, Mexico, and other countries.

Agricultural drones are mainly used for pesticide spraying, so the management of pesticides has become the third policy direction to pay attention to. In Japan, for example, the management agency of pesticide preparations for drones is the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Aviation Association. Japan has 382 pesticide formulation registered for agricultural drones.[1]

Pesticides registered in Japan for agricultural drones include fungicides, insecticide mixtures, herbicides, and plant growth regulators, and registered crops are mainly rice, wheat, soybeans and so on. Herbicides are only registered in rice fields, and the pesticide forms registered in rice fields are mainly granules and film oil. The application method is to use drones to spread particles and drop film oil.

On the premise that the registration of conventional spray use on the ground has been obtained, pesticide companies can apply for the expansion test of low-volume spray use of agricultural drones to increase the registered mode of application. The registration test of Japanese flight control medicament includes tests for field efficacy, residue, crop safety, and adjacent crops. The registration of trials is mainly carried out by the Japan Agricultural Aviation Association (JAAA).

In February 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan simplified the efficacy and residue tests of special agents for agricultural drones based on years of experience in the use of drones. However, crop safety and drift tests related to drone spray are still important registration test data to be submitted. Registration of crop safety tests generally requires “two places a year” – that is, tests are carried out in two fields within one year, and the test dose is twice the recommended dose. Crop safety tests can be carried out at the same time as efficacy tests. For the safety test of adjacent crops, it is necessary to select five sensitive crops to carry out the tests.

2. Efficiency needs to be balanced with environmental protection

Agricultural drone companies have made it their duty to improve agricultural efficiency, committed to improving global agricultural production efficiency. But human health is closely linked to the health and biodiversity of the world as a whole. With the continuous upgrading of the hardware system and intelligence of agricultural drones, only “improving global agricultural production efficiency” can no longer adapt to the development of the current moment, and environment-friendly agricultural drones will become the direction of the industry.

As traditional aerial spraying drift has had a negative impact on the environment, the European Union issued the Directive on the Establishment of a Community Framework for Action to achieve the Sustainable use of pesticides (DIRECTIVE 2009/128/EC, hereinafter referred to as “the Directive”) in 2009, which completely banned aerial spraying in principle and allowed spraying only on steep terrain that could not be reached by ground equipment and when aerial spraying had obvious advantages over ground equipment. Over the past decade, the Directive has been widely transformed into domestic law in EU countries, and has formed a complementary management system with other environmental and agricultural regulations in various countries. For example, Italy has to apply for an overall environmental assessment of the spraying plan before aviation spraying, and then apply for approval in accordance with civil aviation regulations.

Prior to the formal release of the Directive, the EU solicited comments from social groups and stakeholders on the draft legislation on a large scale. The legislature entrusts Bipro[2] to carry out corresponding tests to ensure the scientific and social basis of legislation. According to Bipro’s report “Assessing economic impacts of the specific measures to be part of the Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides,” the EU selected three traditional agricultural countries – France, Spain and Germany – to conduct comparative tests of aerial spraying and ground spraying, respectively, for grapes (France), olives (Spain) and forests (Germany). Considering many factors, such as economic benefit, social impact, environmental impact, spraying efficacy, and human health, the tests compared ground agricultural equipment spraying with aircraft spraying.

As shown in figure 5, taking the test in the French vineyard as an example, it can be seen that the drift distance of aerial spraying and artificial spraying in the vineyard is about 20 meters.

In 2019, the European Union issued an amendment to the Directive. However, there is no change in the basic position of the directive on aerial spraying: prohibition in principle and exemption in special circumstances. In the thirteen years since the formation of the Directive, civil agricultural drones have still not yet been widely used. With the development of science and technology, agricultural drones can replace human beings in more situations. Therefore, it is time to reassess the legitimacy of agricultural drone operations rather than managing them as traditional aircraft.

II. Advantages of agricultural drones compared with aircraft spraying

Compared with traditional aircraft, the characteristics of spraying by agricultural drone are mainly concentrated in the following aspects:

(I) Environmentally friendly

1. Precision spraying operation

The small fixed wings and small helicopters used in agriculture have high flight speed and high flight altitude during spraying, which may lead to serious spray drift. The drone can hover for more targeted high-precision spraying, with lower operating altitude (usually 1.5-3.5m above the crop surface), slower flight speed (about 3-7m/s), and more dynamic control of sprinkler and flow velocity to prevent drift.

Mounting multi-spectral lens on drone can realize the collection and supervision of farmland operation information, generate agricultural prescription map according to the growth of crops, and guide the operation of agricultural drone. When spraying pesticides by drone, it only aims at the plots that need to be sprayed, so as to further reduce the impact on the environment.

In terms of precision spraying, the agricultural drone has garnered attention in addressing the spread of Cirsium arvense in recent years. Cirsium arvense, also known as creeping thistle, is a malignant weed, widely distributed in farmland and pasture, competing with crops for water, nutrients and minerals. Its root buds produce acids that make the soil unsuitable for the growth of some crops. As a result, crop yields are reduced, causing economic losses to farmers and farm owners.

The root buds of Cirsium arvense can continue to reproduce even if it is damaged, so the general process of soil preparation (e.g., cultivated land, ploughing) cannot remove Cirsium arvense, and will further help it spread and propagate. Therefore, the only effective treatment is internal inhaling herbicides, which is conventionally done by spraying glyphosate on the whole field with a tractor.

Planta Drone[3], a partner of DJI Agriculture in Hungary, once used multi-spectral drones to monitor the distribution of Cirsium arvense in the fields, and then used agricultural drones for precision spraying, in order to reduce pesticide use and cost. Planta Drone used multispectral drones to monitor the fields before and after sowing, and then separated the growth of Cirsium arvense using NDVI vegetation index. After the prescription map of precision spraying was generated, the agricultural drone could spray according to the prescription map, so as to achieve accurate weeding.

2. Reduce the risk of operators

The typical agricultural operation scenarios of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft are in mountain terrain operations and large-scale farmland operations. Mountain operation requires pilots to fly manually and constantly ascend and descend to ensure effective spraying. In large-scale farmland operation, the aircraft needs to work at an altitude close to 5 m of the crop. In this process, many pilots cannot successfully level the aircraft after flying close to the ground, increasing the likelihood of a crash. A study from the United States National Transportation Safety Board found that in 2013 there were 78 agricultural aircraft accidents, of which nine were fatal, claiming the lives of 10 people.[4]

The spraying operation of drone first solves the traditional method of “human-aircraft binding,” where pilots must be onboard the aircraft. In the new “human-aircraft separation” method, the drone pilot does not have to bear the risk of crashing. The automatic operation mode of the drone also does not require the pilot to constantly follow the drone, which avoids the risk of the pilot contacting the pesticides during the agricultural spraying operation.

The agricultural drone is equipped with a spherical radar system composed of omnidirectional obstacle avoidance radar and upward radar, which can provide altimetry and height determination functions in front, rear and lower directions under different operation modes, in order to achieve terrain following function, horizontal omnidirectional obstacle avoidance, and upward obstacle avoidance function. Agricultural drones support terrain slope detection, and mountain slopes can also follow the terrain. In the course of route operation, it also has the function of horizontal omnidirectional obstacle bypass, and the obstacle avoidance path can be planned to bypass the obstacle independently.

3. Decreased environmental pollution

Traditional aircraft generally a fuel power source, while drones use lithium batteries. Electric energy is cleaner and can effectively save energy and reduce emissions.

Helicopter propellers produce sound as high as 110 decibels, 1.5 times what the human body can tolerate, while drone operations reduce noise decibels. When the drone works away from the crowd and operators, its low noise will not cause damage to the human body.

(II) Cost effectiveness

The purchase and maintenance costs of a traditional aircraft is high. The purchase cost of an aircraft is not only hundreds or even thousands of times that of drones, as well as more expensive to use. The aircraft requires a number of crew members to be on standby on the ground to do a series of maintenance before takeoff. At the same time, due to the need to apply for specific operational airspace, the cost of aircraft transfer is also relatively high in some countries and regions.

Take the global best-selling helicopter Single Squirrel AS350 as an example. The price of the model is about 3.6 million euros, the charge capacity is 600 kg, the length of the spray rod is 10 meters, the operating parameters are about 40 m/s, the height is 30 m, the spray amplitude is 50 m, the working efficiency is 1200 mu / mission, and each sortie takes 25 minutes. The aircraft is flown by two pilots and at least four ground crew members are responsible for ground maintenance.

By contrast, the cost of purchasing drones is relatively low, with a price of no more than 25,000 euros for an agricultural drone, which farmers can afford. Purchasing the professional plant protection services provided by the plant protection team will not cause a great economic burden. The repair and maintenance of agricultural drones are relatively simple, the replacement of high-consumption parts such as blades can be completed by the operator, and more complex repairs are usually done at the agent maintenance points near the operation area. The maintenance of drones can be done simply at the end of each operation, or uniformly at the end of the entire operation season.

	Single Squirrel AS350	DJI Agras T30
Cost	3.6 million euros	No more than 25,000 euros
Ground crew needed	4	0
Pilots needed	2	1
Energy	Fuel	Lithium battery
Load	500-600 kg	30 kg (spray）
Speed	30-44 m/s	3-7 m/s
Spray amplitude	25-50 m	5-8 m
Precision spraying	No	Yes

Table 1: Helicopter vs. agriculture drone

III. Comparative advantages of drone and ground machine

1. Reduce carbon emissions

Spraying pesticides and fertilizers on farmland used to be dominated by human operations or tractor operations. Diesel is the main fuel for traditional tractors. Replacing traditional agricultural machinery with drones for plant protection can reduce carbon emissions to 5.11 kg of CO2 per hectare. The operation of 1 billion hectares is equivalent to reducing carbon emissions by 5.11 million tons of CO2. This is equivalent to the carbon absorption of 240 million trees a year, and the equivalent of reducing the carbon emissions of 1.92 million cars.

2. Reduce water consumption

Due to the use of low-capacity spraying technology, agricultural drones can save 44 litres of agricultural water per hectare compared with manual operation. The operation of 1 billion hectares is equivalent to a reduction of 44 million tons of agricultural water. This is equivalent to the amount of water consumed by 79.87 million residents in a year.

3. Improve the utilization rate of pesticides

The application of agricultural drones has also brought about an improvement in the utilization rate of pesticides. Professor Yuan Huizhu of the Institute of Plant Protection of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences summed up in his article The Role of the Popularization and Application of Agricultural Drones on Improving the Utilization Rate of Pesticides in China: [5] “Compared with conventional knapsack large-capacity spraying on the ground, the pesticide utilization rate of agricultural drone’s low-altitude and low-capacity spraying technology in the prevention and control of crop diseases and insect pests such as rice, wheat and corn reached 49.1%, 57.1%, and 52.7%, respectively. Compared with the conventional knapsack large-capacity spraying on the ground, the use of agricultural drones can increase the utilization rate of pesticides by more than 10%. 1 billion hectares of operation is equivalent to reducing the waste of 1515 tons of pesticides.”

For the application of Cirsium arvense on the premise of achieving the control effect, compared with the traditional tractor, using drone to accurately weed 18 hectares can save 61 L of liquid, thus saving operating cost of 262.3 euros, or about 15 euros per hectare. Obvious economic effects have been achieved.

“If we are to achieve the 50% reduction in agrochemical use in Europe by 2030, our best chance is to use precision spraying / spreading and variable operation,” said Elemer, an engineer from Planta Drone.

IV. The tests of Agricultural drone

(I) Efficacy test of pesticide application

The effectiveness of pesticide application by agricultural drones has been tested in China for several years. The combination of industry, university, and research has played a positive role in promoting the development of agricultural drone industry technology. In 2021, tests using the DJI Agras T30 included the control of weeds in paddy fields, citrus red spiders, and fall armyworm in corn fields.

1. Test on the effect of controlling weeds in rice field

The purpose of this test was to comprehensively test the control effect of pesticide additives sprayed by the DJI Agras T30 on annual weeds in paddy fields. As a result, the appropriate agents and auxiliaries were selected, and the best parameters of pesticide application for agricultural drone were obtained. The test was conducted to explore the effect of spraying herbicide on barnyard grass and rice yield by the DJI Agras T30.

It was concluded that the control effect of the DJI Agras T30 is better than that of ground mechanical spraying methods. In addition, no obvious drug damage occurred during the experiment, indicating that the correct use of the two spraying methods can effectively control weeds in paddy fields. In addition, the DJI Agras T30 saves time, water and labor, and are recommended for weed control in paddy field.

2. Test on control of citrus red spider

Citrus red spiders are harmful to adult mites, young mites, and nymph mites, to absorb juice from leaves, shoots and pericarp, resulting in fallen fruits and leaves. The injured leaves are densely covered with gray-white needle-sized points, losing luster, and eventually fall off, seriously affecting the tree and yield potential.

In this experiment, the effect of spraying pesticides and auxiliaries on the control of citrus red spiders by agricultural drone was tested, and the appropriate application parameters, pesticides and auxiliaries of agricultural drone were selected.

The main results are as follows:

1. According to the theory of optimal biological particle size, the range of droplet size captured by different biological targets is different, and only in the range of optimal particle size, the number of droplets captured by the target is the largest and the control effect is best. For foliar reptile pests such as citrus red spiders, fog droplets with a particle size of 40~100 μm are suitable. For these parameters, the DJI Agras T30 is suitable for citrus orchard to control red spiders.

2. Among the two kinds of insecticides, the quick control effect of SC was better, and the lasting effect was general. 5% Avi EC + 20% ethoxazole SC had ideal quick-effect and persistent effect on the citrus red spider, and the control effects were 94.36% (1D), 98.37% (3D) and 85.74% (10D), respectively.

3. Adding orange agent can improve the control effect and spraying uniformity of the citrus red spider, in which 40% acarazole SC added orange additive, the control effect increased by 11.68% (3D) and 4.44% (10 d).

3. Control Test of Spodoptera litura in Corn Field

Spodoptera litura, commonly known as the tobacco cutworm, is a leading target for pest prevention. The selection of application instruments, pesticides, auxiliaries, and application methods are the key technologies for the prevention and control of Spodoptera litura. The application of the DJI Agras T30 was compared with the knapsack electric sprayer on the ground, so as to provide a basis for the field control of Spodoptera litura. Spodoptera litura is mainly harmful to corn heart leaves, so the amount of pesticide deposition in heart leaves is the key to the control of Spodoptera litura.

The droplet analysis collected from the filter paper placed on the leaves of the corn ears showed that the deposit amount of the solution applied with the DJI Agras T30 was only 4.6% of that of the knapsack sprayer, but the control effect could reach the same level as that of the knapsack spray.

(II) Drift test

1. Traditional aircraft drift model

People have long recognized that aircraft spraying will bring the problem of pesticide drift, so there has been related research on the drift of traditional aircraft for a long time. The AgDRIFT model of the United States is used to officially regulate agricultural aviation spray-related matters. Users can input nozzles, pesticide fluids, aircraft types, weather factors, etc., and predict the possible drift by calling the internal database. In this model, aircraft wake, wingtip swirl, helicopter rotor downswirl, and air disturbance around the fuselage are included in the influence factors on fog droplets.

Andrew Hewitt, a professor at Queensland University in Australia, introduced GIS into the aviation drift model to optimize the spraying strategy through the measurement of real-time wind speed to reduce pesticide drift loss in non-target areas.

These studies on the traditional aircraft drift model have laid a theoretical foundation for the drift test of agricultural drone.

2. Wind tunnel test

The deposit of fog droplets is affected by many factors. For the drone spray system, the spray droplet parameters, operation parameters, equipment structure types, and environmental factors will affect the droplet deposition effect. During the operation of the rotor drone, the downwash flow produced by the rotors will also affect the distribution deposit of the liquid.

The wind tunnel test makes it possible to quantify the influence of spray parameters on droplet deposition. By comprehensively considering the influence of many factors, such as nozzle type, wind speed, height, and reagent type the prediction model of droplet deposit and drift can be established to guide the actual spray operation. Although the wind tunnel test has obvious advantages in the analysis of deposit-influencing factors, the wind tunnel laboratory is expensive and requires a high standard of conditions and it is difficult to consider the flight parameters and the influence of downwash flow field during drone flight operation.

3. Field test

The advantage of field experiments is that the results of droplet drift and deposit can be observed and analyzed more directly on the basis of drift simulation experiment and wind tunnel test. The disadvantage of field experiments is that the process and results are not reproducible due to the growth and weather conditions of the crops themselves.

1) Pesticide droplet drift test

The purpose of the pesticide droplet drift test is to study the effects of agricultural drone flight height, liquid application volume, external wind speed, and nozzle type on the droplet deposit and drift characteristics of different pesticides.

The main purpose of the pesticide droplet drift test is to confirm the degree of droplet drift under different conditions through the actual flight of agricultural drone, and then provide some guidelines for users in actual operation. For example, the operation should pay attention to the weather, temperature, wind direction, wind speed, etc., and be based on the use of different agents, auxiliaries, and set up the corresponding isolation zone.

Taking the pesticide droplet drift test conducted by Corteva and China Agricultural University in 2021 as an example：

The length and width of the spray operation area was 20m×20m. The pattern of field deposit test sample is as follows:

Same as spray amplitude test;
The length of each row is a 20m droplet collection belt, a total of 2 rows, 0.5 m from the ground;
The length and width of the drift test area is 20×50 m;
Use petri dishes to receive droplets drifting from the ground;
Place petri dishes and potted soybean seedlings at a distance of 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 50 m downwind, 6 dishes (15 cm petri) on metal plates to maintain the same height, with a total of 48 petri dishes in each group;
The air droplet collection device is arranged at 20 m downwind to collect droplets drifting vertically in the air;
The collector adopts polyethylene hose, which is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 meters from the ground.

The field weather station was used to obtain the information of environmental wind speed, wind direction, temperature and humidity, and record the information of each processing time, temperature, humidity, wind size and wind direction during the whole process of the experiment.

Pesticide drift test is now considered by countries all over the world, and drone companies, chemical companies, and agricultural universities are doing corresponding research. Germany, China, Hungary, Australia, Japan, Ukraine and other countries have also conducted similar tests, hoping to provide a basis for the rules for the use of agricultural drones.

2) Environmental impact assessment test

In 2021, the Institute of Plant Protection of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences carried out the safety assessment test of spray drift of agricultural drones on honeybees. The purpose of the test was to:

Determine the deposit and distribution of droplets in the application area and drift area;
Compare the effects of pesticide droplet drift on honeybees with different application methods;
Clarify the control effect of different width of isolation zone on the drift of pesticide application in agricultural drones.

The specific preparation and route of spraying equipment were as follows:

Use the DJI Agras T30 for spraying and Mavic 2 Pro for aerial recording;
T30 spraying parameters of: speed 6 m/s, flight altitude 6 m, spray amplitude 8 m;
Fly east to west along the spraying zone, take off from the easternmost side of the field, spray to the westernmost end with a spray amplitude of 8 meters, and then spray from the westernmost zone of 8-16 meters to the east and land.

At the same time, the knapsack sprayer was used for manual spraying at a spraying height of about 0.7-0.8 m from the ground, a flower height of about 0.3-0.4 m, and a spraying range of 8 m. One person advanced in the middle of the spraying zone and sprayed on both sides.

No spraying zone was set on the westernmost side as a reference for comparison.

After spraying, the activity of honeybees was continuously observed for 16 days, and the activity of honeybees in different application areas and drift areas was recorded.

The results of the experiment, which will last for three years, will be used to recommend the best practices for agricultural drone spraying.

V. Exploration of best practices

The best practice of agricultural drones is a whole-process and full-cycle practical exploration from “person, drones, technologies, pesticide” in all directions. In this process, it involves crew training, the upgrading of safety and reliability of agricultural drone products, the upgrading of drone technology, the coordinated upgrading of agricultural planting technology, as well as the improvement and use standards of pesticides used.

(I) Crew Training

Improper use of agricultural drones may cause environmental soil pollution, air pollution, water pollution, and other problems. These problems are often ignored by operators but can be completely avoided as long as the operation is standardized. For example, operators should not work in an environment with a wind speed of more than 12 mph and do not dump the water from cleaning the spray tanks into natural water sources,. At this time, the requirements for operators are no longer limited to flying agricultural drones, but are trained to become professional agricultural drone operators.

Professional agricultural drone operators refer to people who have both drone operation skills and professional plant protection knowledge. Agricultural drone operators receive systematic training from manufacturers, take up certified posts, are very familiar with agricultural and aviation-related regulations and standards, and master the knowledge of scientific and safe pesticide use. They can carry out dispensing and operation according to the scientific and safe drug use operation plan so as to avoid the impact of drift on surrounding non-target crops, pollinating insects, and the ecological environment.

With regard to the official requirements for agricultural drone operators, the most typical practice comes from the Philippines. On March 18, 2021, the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) issued the II Agricultural Drone Operation Capability Standard (CS), announcing the formal inclusion of the DJI UTC course in the national skills training program, which means that the DJI course has become the first officially certified agricultural drone training course in the Philippines.

(II) Development of new technology

1. Nozzle technology

Researchers in many countries have also spent years studying various spray nozzle types, including general, electrostatic, anti-drift, and gradually precision-variable nozzles. The centrifugal atomizer controlled by the motor has the characteristics of narrow droplet size spectrum distribution and wide atomization range. Compared with the effect of a hydraulic atomization nozzle, it has obvious advantages that has allowed it to enter the commercial stage. MEMS system technology will further miniaturize the control and actuator, and a fine-adjustment spray droplet spectrum for anti-drift and precision variable application has become a new research trend. In addition to traditional pressure nozzles, agricultural drones have also begun use centrifugal nozzles. The characteristics of centrifugal nozzles are: (1) droplets can be controlled, and droplet diameter can be effectively controlled by adjusting rotation speed; (2) a large flow channel structure will not cause blockage, so it is very suitable for spraying soluble powder and suspended agents.

2. RTK navigation pesticide application technology

Agricultural drones are equipped with a real-time kinematic (RTK) unit to achieve accurate positioning at the centimeter level. Before the pesticide application operation, the operators accurately measure and determine the boundary points of the pesticide application operation area by means of a handheld remote control, drone measuring point, or aerial survey, and form a pesticide application area map. According to the application area map, the route map of the application operation is planned, and the drone will automatically apply the pesticide accurately in accordance with the prescribed route to effectively avoid repeat and leakage spraying.

3. AI precision variable spraying

Agricultural drones use AI prescription maps to accurately identify farmland boundaries, crop density, and growth trends, as well as effectively reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers through precise variable control, making it more environmentally friendly. The distribution and growth of crops in farmland are often different. Although full-coverage spraying can achieve large-scale and efficient operation, it will undoubtedly lead to waste of pesticides and environmental pollution.

AI precision variable operation can help users to make accurate judgment first, and then carry out specific operations to reduce the waste of pesticides and environmental pollution. This technology has been widely used in different crops. Below are several uses.

1) Precision spraying weeding

Multi-spectral monitoring was used to monitor the fields before and after sowing, NDVI vegetation index was used to separate the occurrence location of weeds, and the prescription map of accurate spraying was generated and sprayed to agricultural drone to achieve accurate weeding.

The use of agricultural drones for precision weeding to solve a series of problems such as the high cost of herbicide use and ecological pollution caused by pesticide abuse will see increasing use all over the world. While reducing drugs and increasing efficiency, we will promote the green and sustainable development of global agricultural ecology.

2）Accurate spraying of the oil palm tree heart

Most of the diseases and insect pests of oil palm occur in the heart of the tree. When the young oil palm is invaded by pests such as coconut rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros), it will cause leaf damage, petiole holes, and spear fractures and breaks, resulting in tree deformation and dryness, and finally lead to the premature death of young oil palm trees.

DJI agricultural drones provide a customized service, Oil Palm mode, for the management of pests. Using the T16 oil palm special nozzle layout system and DJI Terra fruit tree pattern AI recognition, the tree heart can be accurately judged and sprayed at a fixed point, which can achieve the best pest control effect, save water, and use medicine more efficiently.

(III) Pesticides and flight control additives

Pesticide formulation is a very important factor affecting the actual use of pesticides, which can improve the atomization process of droplets, reduce the loss of droplets, and increase the retention of pesticide droplets on the surface of target crops. So far, commercial pesticide preparations for drone application are still in the stage of research and development, and the preparations suitable for low-altitude and low-dose pesticide spraying of drone will improve the uniformity of pesticide distribution and reduce the potential of droplet drift.

The development and promotion of special agents and auxiliaries that are suitable for agricultural drones has become the key to their low-capacity pesticide application potential. Large chemical companies, such as Corteva, Syngenta, and Bayer are actively developing flight prevention auxiliaries that match agricultural drone spraying. Considering the characteristics of drone plant protection operation in chemical formulation design and processing, there is a high risk of droplet drift in drone low-capacity spraying, so it is necessary to study pesticide preparations with strong sedimentation, volatility resistance, and drift resistance.

(IV) Establishment of technical standards

For the safe operation of agricultural drones, it is necessary to establish industry standards and norms.

The evaluation of environmental safety is the main and key content of the safe use of agricultural drones, environmental protection, and government management. The use standard of agricultural drones lags far behind the research and development of products. It is necessary to develop technical standards that can provide reasonable pesticide application parameters for drone operations under different weather and ground conditions. It is necessary to speed up the research and formulation of standards and norms for aviation plant protection operation quality, control effect assessment and environmental risk assessment. To promote the high-quality, high-efficiency, safe, controllable, and healthy development of the agricultural drone industry.

With the gradual popularization of agricultural drones in the world, the formulation of agricultural drone industry standards and norms has become a key factor to promote the development of the industry. In the aspect of international standards work, DJI belongs to the Agricultural and Forestry Tractor and Machinery Standardization Technical Committee (ISO/TC23) of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), specializing in the standard research of tractors, plant protection equipment, agricultural electronics and other fields, under which the working Group on drone spraying system (WG25) has been established, and is currently deeply involved in the formulation of international standards for agricultural drone ISO-23117.

(V) Complete legal compliance before the start of the operating season

As mentioned earlier, agricultural drones are managed by a number of management departments. The use of agricultural drones is affected by crop growth cycles. We generally refer to the cycle of sowing and spraying of agricultural drones as the agricultural operation season. In order to ensure that users can comply with the use of agricultural drones at the beginning of the operating season, the compliance work should be completed before the start of the operating season. According to the current law, some compliance content cannot be easily completed by users, and manufacturers can assist users in compliance in advance.

1. JKI Certification in Germany

As a well-known agricultural machinery certification organization, German JKI has a reputation for a high standard of professional nozzle testing. In Germany, agricultural drones must be certified by JKI before spraying pesticides on special plots. For example, in 2021-2022, JKI tested and certified the DJI T30 for mountain vineyard operations and completed this approval before the start of the operating season.

2. SFOC Compliance of Transport Canada

Transport Canada requires the operation of drones above 25 kg, operators are required to apply for SFOC, and Transport Canada is approved by SORA and standard scenarios. The content required in SORA includes the safety design of drones. As a terminal agricultural user, it is difficult to provide the safety design and reliability description of drone.

DJI applies directly to Transport Canada to replace T30 users to complete the safety design description and product reliability test report stipulated in the regulations. At present, T30 has been approved by Transport of Canada, and local farmers only need to state the time and place of their upcoming work when applying for SFOC, which greatly saves the compliance cost of users.

As a drone below 25 kg, the T10 must comply with Canadian Standard 922. In order to facilitate the use of users, DJI has also made the compliance of Standard 922, users can use it directly.

3. SORA Compliance of FOCA

In Switzerland, in order for agricultural users to pass the review quickly, agricultural drones are reviewed in advance by the Committee on Agriculture, and then approved by FOCA. Manufacturers or distributors can assist users in preparing corresponding product description materials in advance during the compliance process in order to pass the review quickly.

VI. Conclusion

As stated by the International Food and Agriculture Organization in its objectives:

Our goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.

Agricultural drones provide modern scientific and technological tools for this goal, and create new jobs, new social needs, and social values in the process. Today, agricultural drones comprehensively cover major food crops around the world, including rice, wheat, corn, potatoes, and soybeans. They also serve major cash crops around the world, such as tea, citrus, apple, cherry, cotton, and sugar cane, to name a few.

With the digital, accurate, and intelligent management of grape, olive, cotton, and other cash crops, an agricultural drone system can provide practitioners with a more convenient and efficient management scheme, thereby reducing operating costs, increasing production, quality, and income. The application of agricultural drones will also consider more environmentally friendly and sustainable development in the future to make more contributions to a greener earth, make agriculture easier, and improve lives.

We embrace farmers and are determined to be of service generate their income. Through better intelligent equipment and solutions, we can effectively solve the problems in farmers’ production to help realize their dream of increasing income and make their work more valuable.

We pledge to protect the planet and continue to reduce waste and loss in agricultural production by creating better tools and programs. In doing so, we aim to enable more practitioners to carry out agricultural production in a more environmentally friendly way exist with the land in harmony.

We uphold a win-win cooperation and carry out industry-university-research cooperation with universities, chemical companies, research centers, and other institutions. We will jointly build an ecological circle with talent training, product upgrading, chemical optimization, and technological upgrading as the core, and jointly promote the development and progress of global agricultural science and technology.

We believe that with the continuous exploration of best practices, pest management, and pesticide use will be more reasonable and have less impact on the environment, the policy environment of agricultural drones will be gradually relaxed, and the space for the development of agricultural drones will broaden.

We would like to offer our sincere appreciation to all who worked hard for agriculture and contributed to environmental protection.

We would also like to thank every DJI colleague who worked on this report, DJI distributors and partners for their support in producing its content, and all those who provided media resources.

Finally, we must extend our deepest gratitude for the flora and fauna that provided the data from which future generations will benefit beyond measure.

[1] The agricultural chemical for unmanned aircraft, see https://mujin-heri.jp/index2.html

[2] Beratungsgesellschaft für integrierte Problemlösungen，see http://www.bipro.de/

[3] See https://www.plantadrone.hu/

[4] Special Investigation Report on the Safety of Agricultural Aircraft Operations. Special Investigation Report NTSB/SIR-14/01. United States National Transportation Safety Board, 2014

[5] Yuan Huizhu; Guo Yongwang; Xue Xinyu; Yan Xiaojing; Chen Chang; Kong Xiao; Wang Ming; Zhou Yang: “the role of the popularization and application of plant protection drones in improving the utilization rate of pesticides in China”, Agricultural Engineering Technology, no. 09, 2018

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The agricultural drone regulation in Europe is becoming less stringent

Lajos Kovács — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 13:18:45 +0000

The advantages of agricultural drones are difficult to deny. Fortunately, the legal framework for the use of drones is becoming more organized. The most recent European Union proposal suggests further liberalization. The European drone strategy, which is currently being developed, also in line with this.

Years ago, the EU took significant steps to combat excessive chemical treatment of agricultural areas. Simultaneously, it strictly regulated all forms of aerial spraying.

The main issue with spraying by plane or helicopter is that 1) the vehicle travels at high speeds, making it impossible to spray the chemical accurately, 2) the spray is distributed from higher altitude is easily carried away by the wind, poisoning the soil, waters, and the environment, and 3) due to the uncertain target delivery, a large amount of spray is required.

Precision agriculture with drones

The problems raised previously do not apply to drones because:

drones fly at a low altitude,
the speed of the drones- compared to airplanes and helicopters - is significantly lower,
with these devices chemicals are not sprayed evenly everywhere, but the drones are able to precisely determine the area and the type of vegetation,
with the help of drone technology, it is possible to cover larger croplands, with less required chemical.

New suggestions

Agriculture experts have been putting significant pressure on European decision-makers for some time. With the introduction of advanced agricultural drones, it is clearly evident that a new solution has emerged. While the EU envisions a 50% decrease in agricultural chemical use by 2030, it does not give the resources to accomplish so. It is critical to recognize that precision agriculture and the spraying drones used are best suited for achieving these objectives.

In the European Parliament – European Council proposal of 22nd June, 2022 the previous regulations on plant protection are reviewed and the document also addresses the usage of “unmanned” aircraft (ie, drones).

The proposal states that member countries may deviate from the regulations limiting aerial plant protection under “exceptional conditions.” In this case, the following must be taken into account:

The technical specifications of the unmanned aircraft, including in relation to Spray drift, number and size of rotors, payload, boom width and overall weight,
Operating height and speed;
The weather conditions, including wind speed;
The area to be sprayed, including its topography; (d) the availability of plant protection products authorized for use as ultra-low volume formulations in the relevant Member State;
Potential use of unmanned aircraft in conjunction with real time kinematic (RTK) precision farming in certain cases;
The level of training required for pilots operating an unmanned aircraft;
Potential concurrent use of multiple unmanned aircraft in the same area.

Previous attempts

The recent report was not the first of its kind. In 2018 a directive of Council of Europe concluded that drones easily adapt to variations in topography and are thus particularly ideal for plant protection in vineyards and orchards located on hills. They also discovered that spraying with drones is substantially faster than spraying with traditional ground tools.

Switzerland also demonstrated that these are not theoretical concerns. The Swiss Agricultural Institute, were examining for three years the practical use of drones in agriculture. The outcomes spoke for themselves.

Final verdict

Technology is rapidly evolving. Drones were previously primarily associated with military technology. Today, specialized agricultural drones assisting farmers in their work. The events of the last several months have been promising, the European Union decision-makers have also realized that drones should not be grouped in with other aircraft, and that agricultural use of drones cannot be put in the same category as traditional aerial spraying. Following recent improvements and model approvals, there is every likelihood that Hungarian farmers will have access to an agricultural drone as easily and quickly as to a tractor.

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This is how DJI SmartFarm supports farmers

Lajos Kovács — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 08:59:08 +0000

Today, it is completely normal for a machine to be augmented by cloud software (SaaS, or “software as a service”) or an application that links the machine and the cloud software rather than functioning independently.

All of this is common for a customer- or corporate management system, but in agriculture, such a setup is still viewed as a novelty.

Multiplying the possibilities of DJI agriculture drones

After extensive planning, the legal framework for the use of agricultural drones has been established, allowing the drones to spread across the world and the development of precision agriculture supported by drones to gain momentum. The knowledge of drones specifically designed for agricultural purposes is impressive in and of itself, but the DJI SmartFarm app together with the cloud service running behind it expand it even further.

DJI SmartFarm: full control over the fields

DJI, the leading manufacturer of consumer, enterprise and also agricultural drones, has already developed the DJI SmartFarm app for the AGRAS range. This app was previously only available in Chinese (Mandarin) and last month the English version was finally released.

Processing of aerial photographs

With the help of the app, high-resolution or multispectral image data can be uploaded to the cloud, which can later be analysed by even the farmers anywhere with access to the Internet.

Processing mosaic images from large areas of land, managing parallel processes, or merging images all require significant CPU and GPU performance. This barrier can be easily overcome with the help of the DJI SmartFarm platform, as there is no need for costly investments in IT equipment. The completed recording can also be used as the app’s basic map.

You can assign various tasks and documents to multi-plate estates or plots of land using the SmartFarm app, both individually and collectively.

With the help of the app, full control of the drones can be easily implemented. Basic control functions can be performed using the mobile phone, and flight data can also be retrieved. Since the data can be accessed anywhere and at any time through the cloud software, the managers responsible for the work can easily oversee the actual situation or even historic data.

Support from spraying to spreading

Farmers (or service providers) can receive support for the entire spraying and spreading process via the DJI SmartFarm app. This includes data display, device management, area division, manual distribution and measuring instruments.

Teamwork is at the forefront

One of the important areas of application of agricultural drones is to support planning, management, monitoring and documentation. Even though the drone is directly controlled by a single operator (pilot), a whole team can handle the tasks mentioned above. The DJI SmartFarm app supports teamwork to the maximum, and everyone can have access the information they need for their work.

More options

The DJI SmartFarm app is a game changer that will undoubtedly have a significant impact on precision agriculture in the coming years. DJI SmartFarm is an open solution capable of collaborating with other systems. This can provide new perspectives in applications. We are only at the start of a long journey. Well-proven practices may emerge in the coming years, which can then be shared with one another. Certainly via the cloud and the SmartFarm app.

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Surprising Facts About Agricultural Drones

Lajos Kovács — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 12:37:28 +0000

When purchasing traditional equipment for spraying, the farmer expects it to be able to spray the plants with the right chemical. It’s not something you would even consider using for other jobs.

When you buy a spraying drone, you actually get a comprehensive device. In addition to spraying plants very accurately and effectively, an agricultural drone is also suitable for a number of additional tasks:

But versatility is only one thing. Agricultural (spraying) drones perform these tasks cheaper and faster than conventional machines.

Information From a Bird’s-Eye View

Surveying or mapping drones can monitor the terrain in a way that was not possible before. This information will help you to plan sowing, assess your farmland, and analyze your crop health based on detailed NDVI and RGB aerial imagery.

However, in many places, survey and monitoring drones are not only used for this. Surveillance and securing large areas of land is difficult to solve with traditional methods. Look-outs and scarecrows are no longer effective. Drones can cover vast areas in a short time, and if necessary, the operator can immediately alert security people, so air surveillance can replace traditional continuous guarding. In addition, these drones can be used to check the condition of wildlife fences. We can find where the fence is damaged so animals can get in—and then we can fix those points.

Precision Crop Protection With Drones

Modern agriculture would be impossible without the use of modern chemicals. This is an extremely delicate activity that requires speed, attention and precision. Using the right chemicals in the right amount, in the right place and at the right time is a constant challenge for farmers. Too high a concentration in a given place can lead to unnecessary costs and lower the quality of the product. Too low a concentration can make plants susceptible to diseases and pathogens, and therefore endanger crops.

Drone detection and spraying—a key part of precision agriculture—allows the spray to reach exactly where it is needed, in just the right amount.

Controlling Liquid in Motion in the Air

For a drone, carrying 20-30 liters of liquid is a completely different challenge than carrying cameras, sensors and other solid loads. As the drone moves and the spray level decreases, the liquid in the tank moves back and forth, and its center of gravity changes. DJI’s engineers use a special algorithm for spraying drones to compensate for the dynamically changing center of gravity and load.

Spraying Drones Can Do More

High-precision, automated spreading of various kinds of granular materials is a huge step towards the digitalization of agriculture and intelligent farming. T30, the latest drone in the DJI AGRAS range, offers 40-kg capacity and a 7-meter spraying width, which represents a significant level of productivity.

Today it is still a rarity, but the technology already allows seed to be sown using drones. Following a preloaded map, drones can spread seed on the ground at very low altitudes. This can speed up planting and save significant manpower. However, the use of drones is not limited to distributing seeds. The technology can be deployed to spread pesticide, fertilizer, animal feed and herbicide.

Using Drones Against Mosquitoes

In a groundbreaking 2019 experiment, scientists used an adapted DJI AGRAS drone to reduce the transmission of malaria in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The drone sprayed a series of rice paddies with a biological control agent, which sits on the surface of the still water to prevent freshly hatched mosquitoes from leaving. Luckily, there is no high malaria risk in Europe, but mosquito control is important for us as well in the summer, and this experiment demonstrates the versatility of spraying drones.

Not All Drones are Suitable for Agricultural Work

More and more drones are available on the market every day. It is important to note that not even all of the major drones are suitable for agricultural work. Weighing in at 24.6kg, almost 3 m across, and with a maximum potential takeoff weight of 76.5kg, the DJI AGRAS T30 is definitely an impressive vehicle. But that’s not everything. Unlike many members of its weight-class, its designers have already prepared it for the special demands of agricultural work, so special spraying equipment is available for it.

Summary

A wisely chosen spraying drone is indeed an extremely versatile tool that is an excellent support in modern precision agriculture. Regular exploratory flights make it possible to assess the needs in a timely manner, and the precise delivery of chemicals makes the use of chemicals cheaper and more effective. Thanks to this precise operation, the agricultural drone is one of the fastest ways of achieving a return on your investment.

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A New Milestone in Drone Spraying: The Legislative Background is Ready

Lajos Kovács — Sat, 26 Feb 2022 15:15:45 +0000

Agriculture is in transition. Being able to produce more efficiently and sustainably is not only a national but a global effort as well, and it is also in the interest of farmers. With the growing population and finite farming areas, priority needs to be given to solutions that serve the above objectives. Therefore, decision-making based on drone surveys and spraying using drones are the future of precision agriculture.

The Situation of Drone Spraying in Hungary

In Hungary, surveying and continuous monitoring of crops using drones is starting to become standard practice. Farmers or their competent assistants are free to use innovative tools for this purpose, while complying with civilian drone flight regulations. However, if a populated area is involved in flight operations then, obviously, it must be declared and an incident flight permit must be requested.

The situation of spraying drones in Hungary has improved recently. In the past, domestic aerial spray legislation only covered conventional enclosed aircraft, such as helicopters or fixed-wing airplanes and drones fell into the same category. In the beginning of 2022, the national regulatory body (NEBIH) started building up the legal framework for drone spraying and we can hope that this will soon set an example for all other European countries.

Type Approvals for Maximum Safety

As we discussed in our previous article, the National Food Chain Safety Office recently announced that the type approvals of agricultural spraying drones has finally started. For this purpose, authorities examine mainly whether the drone sprayer works adequately, has a uniform spray pattern, and its use does not cause any unacceptable environmental impact. The office set a due date of 30 April 2022 for distributors of machinery or those who had previously distributed spraying drones to obtain a type-approval certificate. HRP Europe Kft., the only European distribution center and local distributor of DJI agricultural drones, has already initiated the type approval process of the manufacturer’s spraying drones.

Another Step Towards Controlled Spraying Using Drones

Substance-efficient, sustainable, drone-based plant protection has arrived at a turning point with the modification of the aerial spraying legislation on 23 February 2022 by the Ministry of Agriculture (AM) and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (ITM). Decree 4 of 2022 (II. 8.) AM on modifying the Joint “FVM-GKM-KvVM” Decree 44 of 2005 (V. 6.) finally creates the regulatory background for spraying with drones, so farmers will soon have access to more accurate and targeted application methods.

Spraying Legally Using Drones

The above regulation also clarifies issues around the operator of the drone, the person conducting the flight, and the safety of operations. Based on its content, in order to be able to spray your farm legally using drones in the future, these are most important criteria:

Authorization is Around the Corner

Only someone who is registered in the “unmanned aircraft system operator register”, may conduct an agricultural drone flight. This should not be confused with the UAS operator registry maintained by the aviation authority!
People at the organization designated by the National Food Chain Safety Office (Nébih) must take part in comprehensive plant protection drone pilot training. (The designation of these institutions and the details of the training are currently under development.)
Agricultural spraying drones can only be used with an application plan, which must be submitted to the county government office at least 30 days before the first planned treatment.
Prior to spraying, at the latest by 9 a.m. on the previous working day, the government office must be notified of the intended spraying. The notification shall also specify the most important personal and work-related data, as well as the specialized manager’s FELIR ID and the operator’s LUC ID or the operational authorization’s ID.
A work map shall be available, indicating the areas to be treated, treatment-sensitive areas and protection distances.
The pilot of the agricultural spraying drone or their delegate shall monitor the weather conditions within a 5km radius of the treated working area.
Spraying operations are prohibited over residential areas, livestock areas, surface water, headworks, aquifer protection areas, municipal wastewater treatment plants, highly protected natural areas, forest reserves or biosphere reserve core areas.
All flight-related documentation must be retained for at least 3 years.
Not any kind of product can be released through drone spraying. Only those preparations and plant protection products that are allowed to be applied by “unmanned aircraft systems” may be used.

The list is not exhaustive; be sure to read the decree for all the details.

Spraying Drones at the Finish Line

It is apparent that the regulatory processes gained a huge momentum in Hungary at the beginning of 2022. Therefore, it can be realistically expected that, with the rapid completion of the type rating processes, the authorization of protection products and the agricultural drone pilot training starting in the spring, drone spraying can widely begin by this desiccation season.

Drone spraying as a service? Yes!

Although one drone is enough on smaller farms to replace the usual spraying processes, for larger areas, more high-performance spraying drones may be required. Moreover, while tackling legislative issues is a big step forward, complying with them involves considerable energy investment by farmers.

Therefore, it is almost certain that a number of service providers will enter the market in the coming period that will specialize in drone spraying, and sell it as a service—thus responding to a huge market demand. If you engage such a service provider, you should be informed about their compliance and any liability insurance issues.

Summary

With the current legal gaps and red tape cleared up, legal agricultural drone spraying can finally begin in Hungary. State-of-the-art drones, including those in DJI’s portfolio, can greatly contribute to achieving higher yields in a more sustainable, environmentally friendly and cost-effective way.

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The Spread of Agricultural Drones at National and International Level

Lajos Kovács — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 13:00:50 +0000

Today, the tools we have been using for 50 or even 20 years are no longer enough to cultivate the land. Increasing efficiency and profitability is still a fundamental requirement, of course, but it is only possible if we take sustainability into account.

Precision agriculture (including precision cultivation) has moved from earlier theoretical work to everyday practice. Elements of this cover almost every area, from soil preparation to harvesting.

Most of these methods and solutions have been developed for large farms of over 20 hectares, so domestic farmers typically working on smaller areas cannot adopt them directly. This does not mean, however, that the key methods of precision farming are not adaptable to smaller areas of land.

Drones, the Versatile Agricultural Machines

Luckily, there are machines for which the above does not apply. These include agricultural drones, which can be used successfully in significantly smaller areas, and investing in them will pay off in a foreseeable time.

With the help of drones, agricultural areas can be surveyed quickly and easily. Flying over the land, the drone takes several kinds of images (photo, infrared), which can then be analyzed on a computer using the appropriate target software.

By carrying out drone “expeditions” with the right regularity, we can find out in time if weeds, pests or fungal diseases are threatening the plants. Based on drone footage, these hazards can be detected much earlier than with traditional agricultural equipment. And with the GPS coordinates of the drone footage, we can specify the exact location where intervention is needed.

Thanks to early detection and local intervention, farmers need to use far less chemicals than before, which, in addition to significant financial savings, means less spraying agents get into the soil. (Currently, one of the main sources of river pollution is intensive spraying.)

From the Wild West to Regulation

The US is far ahead of Europe in the use of agricultural drones. The use of drones there started spontaneously, but it soon became obvious that some kind of regulation was needed.

It is no different in other countries. According to a study conducted at the beginning of 2020, the use of agricultural drones is regulated in some way in 45 of the 200 countries surveyed. This is a big step forward compared to previous years and shows that the process has accelerated.

Spraying using drones would be an ideal solution for European farmers, but a 2009 directive (EC) on the limited use of plant protection products limits airborne spraying of chemicals. (This restriction was introduced to prohibit airplane spraying.)

This directive essentially contradicts the Farm to Fork strategy published in May 2020, which envisages a 50% reduction in the use of pesticides by 2030. Agricultural drones would serve this purpose excellently as, by focusing on infected and endangered areas, they greatly reduce the amount of chemicals sprayed. Farmers are therefore now asking the European Commission to update the already obsolete 2009 directive.

Agricultural Drones in Europe

Regulators do not have to pave fresh paths. Switzerland can serve as a good example, where, under the supervision of the Swiss Agricultural Institute, a 3-year pilot project was launched for the viticultural application of spraying drones. According to the farmers, the results speak for themselves—these issues do not need to be decided from behind a desk.

The French started experimenting with spraying drones in 2019, but they had to stop because of the ban on aerial spraying. Experiments could only resume in 2021. French experts also highlight the benefits of direct spraying targeting small areas.

Agricultural drones have not yet spread in Germany either. It was used by only a small number of farmers in 2020, but it is expected to skyrocket, as the German drone law is already in the works.

There is also a need for agricultural drones in Hungary. Although they have been used only under experimental conditions, the launch of type approvals shows that we are finally moving forward.

Summary

In addition to helping farmers, agricultural drones also contribute to sustainability due to using less spray mixture in a targeted manner. The United States, Canada and China are much more ahead in the use of agricultural drones, but fortunately both the European Commission and the EU member states are trying to move forward in approving agricultural drones.

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Spraying Drones Awaiting Deployment

Lajos Kovács — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 16:55:55 +0000

Speaking of drones, most people probably think of unmanned combat equipment, controlled from thousands of miles away, or perhaps fantastic aerial photos taken by a drone. So far, few people think about agricultural drones.

In fact, drones—officially unmanned aircraft—also offer extraordinary new opportunities for agriculture. Using drones for monitoring, health assessment and spraying (whether for nutrition or plant protection) have many advantages over conventional methods.

Production in modern, large-scale agriculture occurs in large areas that are impossible to monitor using traditional methods. Only frequent aerial monitoring allows for an accurate overview of the processes, the timely detection of diseases and professional intervention. The use of satellites and conventional agricultural aircraft for this task would be inflexible and prohibitively expensive. The idea of using drones has been around for many years now, and for good reason.

A few years ago, the use of drones suddenly began to spread at high speed, but the official regulations were lagging far behind the everyday practice. Realizing this, however, strict regulations were introduced that made the use of drones difficult for years. Luckily now this is all going to change.

Spraying Drones Coming

Agricultural drones which are suitable for carrying out all processes covering larger areas from monitoring (supplemented by high-resolution images) to status assessment and spraying have appeared recently.

While the maneuvering and aiming capabilities of an agricultural spraying airplane are quite limited, a spray drone can deliver chemicals with high accuracy and much greater efficiency than before.

Smaller Tank – Higher Efficiency

Although most agricultural drones designed for spraying carry a maximum of 20-liter tanks, and even the top model DJI AGRAS T30, distributed by HRP, can only take off with 30 liters of spray, it would be a mistake to compare them to the large tanks of traditional ground sprayers.

First, using the latest technology, controlled droplet application (CDA), less spraying material is distributed in the air, and more is delivered, greatly increasing the efficiency of spraying while reducing the unnecessary burden on the environment. This method reduces the amount of spraying agent used in a given area by several orders of magnitude.

Second, the latest agricultural drones – when DJI AGRAS surveying drones are used together with protection drones – can use their sensors to detect plants and plant parts, and spray only the desired parts. This kind of precision agriculture would not be possible without the drones designed specifically for this task.

Spraying Drones are Flexible and Environmentally Friendly

Thanks to all these solutions, the most powerful drones can spray up to 16 hectares in an hour. While a tanker running on the ground can only move from one place to another with difficulty, the spraying drone can be folded, easily transported to a new location and deployed there within minutes.

We have already mentioned that drone spraying releases less spray into the air and the soil. But there are other ways in which these machines help protect the environment, as they are not powered by gasoline or diesel, but by electricity. The batteries of AGRAS drones are easy to replace, allowing these machines to work continuously.

Safety is Important

Many are afraid of accidents caused by drones, although modern drones are becoming increasingly safer. They avoid obstacles automatically using sensors, and provide accurate information to drone pilots with high-resolution cameras.

A construction with a diameter or 3 meters and weighing more than 50kg with spray is not a child’s toy. Considerable expertise is required to operate it remotely. It is understandable that drone pilots must complete a training course and pass an exam in order to operate machines rated in the appropriate categories. We are convinced that agricultural drone pilots will be one of the most sought-after specialists in the years ahead.

Authorization is Around the Corner

Although agricultural drones have been available on the market for years, so far, they could only be used in limited circumstances. The National Food Chain Safety Office recently announced that the type approvals of agricultural spraying drones have finally started. For this purpose, authorities mainly examine whether the drone sprayer works adequately, has a uniform spray pattern, and its use does not cause any unacceptable environmental impact.

The benefits of drone spraying are clear. The agricultural drones sold by HRP are among the best, so they will surely receive the required certifications. It is important to note that no one should purchase an agricultural spraying drone that does not have a type rating and the appropriate sticker in the future. More good news for really progressive farmers who already have one of DJI’s earlier spraying drones is that they will also undergo the certification process, enabling them to be used safely in the new regulatory environment as well.

Summary

In recent years we could see the rapid evolution of drones suitable for agricultural use, including spraying and applying various materials, but the regulatory environment has not really allowed farmers to use them legally. Now, however, with the contribution of the National Food Chain Safety Office, the type approval of spraying drones has started, so, after the subsequent regulatory issues are clarified, there may come a new dawn of more modern, efficient and environmentally friendly farming, soon.

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How Agricultural Drones Help Farmers

Lajos Kovács — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 08:14:02 +0000

Recently, agriculture mostly operated on a trial-and-error basis. It was not possible to predict precisely how much crop the grain sown, the vegetables planted and the trees carefully groomed would eventually yield. Unpredictable weather, changing climate, minor and major natural disasters, diseases attacking plants, pests—plenty of factors that could not be influenced, or only to a small extent.

Today, thanks to precision agriculture and data-driven solutions, farmers can obtain a much more detailed overview of the life of their farms, can better influence each factor and produce more, while also reducing the need for resources such as water, spraying agents and human labor.

The Drone is the Defining Tool of Precision Agriculture

Many think of drones as new-generation spraying equipment. They are wrong. The drones prepared for this task are excellent sprayers — we discussed this in detail in our previous article — but there is much more to them. Drones provide the farmer with an aerial perspective and detailed data that allows them to make more accurate decisions than ever before. Therefore, the acquisition and use of agricultural drones has a fundamental effect on the future of the farm.

Of course, the drone is not the answer to everything. It will not do ploughing or baling, but it will offer opportunities that are unimaginable in traditional agriculture.

Here are 6 ways that agricultural drones can help your work:

1. Surveying the crop area

The drone is useful even before planting the crop. Equipped with cameras and sensors, the drone can help you farm your land in the best way possible. Aerial photographs accurately reveal soil erosion and areas that are difficult to irrigate. A preliminary survey will help prevent problems that would be much more expensive to solve later.

2. Irrigation

Drones will not take over irrigation; you will still need irrigation systems, but they can help adjust them and use them effectively. Multispectral aerial photographs taken before and after sowing show where the land receives too little or maybe too much water. This information will help prevent serious problems in the future.

3. Animal husbandry

Animals can be well identified by their body temperature, so drones equipped with a thermal camera are ideally suited for checking the headcount. The system can instantly detect if an animal’s body temperature is too high, so diseases can be identified in a timely manner. Inspection flights can also show if the pasture’s fence is broken so further damage can be quickly prevented.

4. Crop surveying

Drones equipped with multispectral cameras are able to distinguish between healthy and sick plants. Depending on the resolution of the so-called NDVI map recorded and generated by the drone, you can see which parts of your fields, which plants, or even which parts of individual plants require special attention and urgent intervention. This method can be used to save plants with diseases that would have remained invisible using traditional methods.

5. Insurance and crop valuation

Insurance is extremely important for farmers. However, in the event of drought, floods, seasonal frosts or other natural disasters, it is difficult to evaluate losses quickly and accurately. Drone data documenting the state of crops and livestock before and after disasters, as well as an informed forecast on the reduction in estimated yields can help ensure that insurance processes are completed quickly and seamlessly.

6. Precision spraying

Although it is still a novelty here, precision spraying has been used in Japan since the 1980s. The application of this method was significantly facilitated by the appearance of drones. Data from cameras and sensors help spraying more effectively and precisely than ever before.

Having a Drone is Worth it for Farmers

Modern agriculture is inconceivable without a serious machine fleet. To name just a few, a tractor, a combine harvester or a dryer, cost a lot of money. An agricultural drone is one of the relatively modest investments, while it offers one of the fastest returns!

Agricultural drones cannot replace all the machines used before, and traditional spraying and irrigation will continue to be necessary; however, due to their features briefly described in the 6 points above, they can reduce uncertainty and make work much more efficient and effective than before. The result of all this is less loss and more crops than before.

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Agricultural Spraying Drones: DJI AGRAS T30 – the Precision Agricultural Drone

Lajos Kovács — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 14:36:41 +0000

Agriculture plays the most important role in maintaining our modern society. Providing food for the whole world is not an easy task—unpredictable weather, climate change, pests and diseases are hitting the industry with uncertainty. There is no doubt, however, that the world’s population keeps growing, putting those in the agricultural world under constant pressure to find effective solutions.

Fortunately, farmers have always been ready to adopt new, creative and innovative devices. Perhaps now it is more important than ever for them to keep being open to new technologies and solutions to maximize their yields while minimizing uncertainty for the benefit of the population.

Agriculture (…) is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to wealth, good morals and happiness.

Thomas Jefferson

How can we find a solution to feeding the world’s increasing population?

The key to solving one of the most pressing problems of the 21st century is precision agriculture, i.e. maximizing the effectiveness of production through evidence-based, data-driven practices. By giving farmers access to plenty of useful data and comparing it to the data collected previously, they can eliminate guesswork and make informed and logical decisions. They can produce more, and reduce the waste of valuable resources such as water, fertilizer, pesticide and, last but not least, human labor. A more detailed, comprehensive understanding of the farm allows for accurate planning, accurate implementation and rapid response to emerging problems.

Precision Agriculture Relying on Drones

Agricultural drones, becoming increasingly popular today, are in the forefront of taking precision agriculture to new levels. It is no coincidence that, compared to most agricultural machines, drones have become affordable, and their use offers a fast return on investment. While tractors, bailers and other agricultural machinery can often have a hair-raising price tag, an agricultural drone can be purchased at a fraction of the outlay.

Spraying Using Drones

Drones were first used for precision spraying in Japan in the 1980s, but have only become really popular recently as they have gone through incredible evolution: drone-based spraying solutions have become automated, fast, cost-effective and intelligent. Based on plant health data, the spraying drone can deliver just the right amount of fertilizer, herbicide, fungicide or pesticide to the plants that need it, thereby reducing costs and unnecessary pollution of the environment.

DJI AGRAS T30 – Spraying at Master Level

The DJI AGRAS T30, one of the successor models to the DJI AGRAS MG series, is DJI’s most modern and advanced agricultural sprayer. The DJI drew lessons from the past, took advice from farmers and further developed the predecessor models to create the DJI AGRAS T30. Among drones, it has an amazingly large 30-liter tank for carrying spraying agent—hence the name.

The AGRAS T30 is equipped with IP67-certified hardware resistant to harsh weather conditions and a high-performance AI-powered engine that supports 3D operations, i.e. efficient flight planning. The foldable design of DJI’s latest agricultural drone simplifies configuration and assembly, while also speeding up regular maintenance operations. Thanks to the lightweight and durable carbon-fiber folding components, the drone can easily fit into up to 80% less space than its full size, making it really easy to transport.

The New Spraying System

Thanks to its outstanding flight performance, the DJI AGRAS T30 can carry 30 liters of spray, and has an increased spray width of 9 meters. The spraying drone is equipped with 16 nozzles and 8 solenoid valve sets for even spraying and a maximum spraying speed of 8 l/min. The DJI AGRAS T30 can spray about 16 hectares per hour. The spraying system also features an innovative electromagnetic flow meter to provide unbeatable accuracy and stability compared to other traditional devices.

Accurate Positioning

The drone’s dual GNSS+RTK systems enable centimeter-level positioning. Thanks to the omnidirectional obstacle sensors and the extended field of vision, we can rest assured that the jewel of the farm is in safety. The AGRAS T30 can recognize the slope of the terrain and adjust the parameters according to the measured requirements.

The AGRAS T30 supports the OcuSync 2.0 HD transmission technology, which means a control distance of up to 7 km under optimal conditions and in the FCC region. It is also equipped with a dual wide-angle FPV camera and indicator lights so that operations can be monitored day and night.

Large Battery for High Performance

The AGRAS T30 is equipped with a replaceable 29,000mAh smart battery. The maximum performance of the battery is guaranteed by the manufacturer up to 1000 charging cycles or up to 2000 hectares of work, which significantly reduces long-term operating costs. The 7200W ultra-fast charger can charge a battery in 10 minutes, so you only need two batteries and a single charger for continuous operation. The charger has a built-in battery status management system that monitors critical data such as voltage and temperature in real time to ensure safe charging.

Spraying of Active Substances and Canopy Spraying

There are two optional accessories available for the AGRAS T30. One of them is the orchard/canopy spraying system, which enables increased transfer of pesticide through the top layer of the canopy. This improves the effectiveness of fruit tree spraying by up to 100%. The other accessory is a spinning-disk spreader unit that allows you to deliver 30kg of seeds, fertilizer or any granules. The unit’s maximum spraying width is 7 meters, and the spray tank can be refilled in minutes, so there is no downtime.

Summary

It is evident that DJI is absolutely committed to making farmers’ lives easier, and plays a dominant role in promoting precision agriculture. DJI’s developments make the workflow of plant protection more efficient and intelligent. Using drones and the related software, DJI agricultural solutions significantly simplify operations and greatly improve their efficiency.

Are you interested in the DJI AGRAS T30 drone?

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