Plant protection drone operator Li Yangfan takes care of crops in the air

The plant protection drone operator is like a doctor and delivery worker who treats crops. After receiving a farmer’s order, they bring the drone to the farm or orchard to apply medicine and fertilizer, and ‘treat’ the crops

“Didi Didi Didi” “Buzz” – Amidst the roar, a 6-rotor drone lifted vertically from the ground, adjusted its direction, and flew straight forward.

Not far away, Li Yangfan held the remote control and stared intently at the drone, fingering the buttons proficiently. Seeing the drone accurately avoiding obstacles and hovering steadily above a peach tree, he nodded with satisfaction.

Li Yangfan is a technician at the Agricultural Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System Research Institute of China Agricultural University, and also a doctoral student at the Pharmacy and Application Technology Research Center of the School of Science of the university. Although only 25 years old, Li Yangfan has extensive experience in operating plant protection drones. His footprints have been found in rice paddies in Shandong and Henan, orchards in Guangxi and Hainan, and peach forests in Pinggu, Beijing.

Speaking of this profession, the big boy born in 1998 summarized it in two unrelated words: a barefoot doctor and a delivery man. Just like the barefoot doctors in the countryside in the past, anyone who gets sick will carry a small medicine box to see people, but we only treat crops. Farmers can place orders through mini programs or other channels, just like takeout workers taking orders, bringing drones to farmers’ plots to apply medicine or fertilizer. “Li Yangfan explained with a smile.

The biggest leap forward for drones compared to manual operations is the significant improvement in efficiency. In the past, when manual spraying was used, one person could reach a maximum of 10 acres of land per day. Now, with drones, there is no problem shooting more than 200 acres per day In the past, manual spraying was done at your home today, and at my home tomorrow. Without cooperation, pests migrated back and forth between adjacent plots, but drone spraying may solve this problem well by spraying the same village together. “Li Yangfan said of those things in the field.