Drone Plant Protection Operations Assist in Green Prevention and Control of Tobacco Diseases and Pests

At present, it is in the peak growth period of tobacco, and also a critical period for tobacco Pest control. In order to ensure the stable yield and income of tobacco, Shizong County County Tobacco Monopoly Bureau (branch) has been using plant protection drones to accurately spray antibiotics in Shizong’s main tobacco production area, combining green prevention and control with the rule of unified prevention and control, to ensure the high yield and harvest of flue-cured tobacco this year, and the stable income of farmers.

In the field of Xineli Village, Shidong Village Committee, Caiyun Town, Shizong County, the reporter saw that the flourishing tobacco leaves were concentrated in a continuous stream, the bucket in the tricycle beside the tobacco field was full of the prepared antibiotics, and the generator beside it was buzzing, constantly preparing the power for the drone. Several staff members were operating three drones, accompanied by a roar of rotor blades. The drones took off under the control of the staff, flying back and forth over the tobacco fields along the set route, continuously spraying antibiotics. Xu Kun, the head of Caiyun Tobacco Station, told reporters that the antibiotics being sprayed by drones are mainly used to prevent various leaf spot diseases and pests such as tobacco brown spot disease and wildfire disease.

Every day, each drone covers an area of over 300 to 400 acres, which is more efficient compared to manual labor. From the perspective of tobacco production, the effect of reducing work and costs, as well as reducing manual input, is very obvious. “Xu Kun said, according to his introduction, drone spraying of antibiotics has less waste, high uniformity, and good atomization. Compared with traditional spraying methods, it reduces the cost of using antibiotics, At the same time, it also reduces the residue of antibiotics on the tobacco leaf surface; In addition, the downward airflow generated by the rotor during pesticide spraying helps to increase the penetration of fog on crops, resulting in good control effects. At the same time, it can save 50% of pesticide usage and 90% of water consumption, greatly reducing resource costs for tobacco farmers.

This year, Shizong County Tobacco Monopoly Bureau (branch) strictly implemented the requirements of green tobacco production, strictly formulated the 2023 tobacco UAV specialized plant protection plan, distributed the area of UAV specialized plant protection operations to tobacco growing villages (towns and streets), invested 5 UAVs in professional plant protection services relying on two tobacco farmers’ cooperatives, and effectively did a good job in the control of pests and diseases in large tobacco fields, It will lay a solid foundation for the tobacco production under the jurisdiction of Shizong County to achieve the goal of “ensuring quantity, improving quality and increasing efficiency”.

It is understood that in 2023, Shizong County County Tobacco Monopoly Bureau (branch) plans to implement 22700 mu of tobacco UAV air defense unified control. Up to now, the county has carried out nearly 20000 mu of air defense operations, 88% of the planned tasks have been completed, and it is expected to be fully completed in early July.