Plant protection drones become good helpers for farmers

The sun bakes the earth. At the Agricultural Science and Technology (Agricultural mechanization) Demonstration base in Hongri Village, Daxinggou town, Wangqing County, plant protection drones dart back and forth across lush fields spraying chemicals.

“Before, it was all artificial spraying. You had to wear your clothes up to your eyes, and you had to carry the water bottle next to the spray. Now plant protection drones are used, and the handle is operated from the ground, which is convenient and painless, with high efficiency and more accurate application.” Li Hua, a farmer in Daxinggou town, planted a total of 100 hectares of crops. He was one of the first farmers to use plant protection drones to farm in Wangqing County. He calculated that manual operation costs 150 yuan a day and the operation area is about 2 hectares, while the plant protection UAV costs 80 yuan per hectare and can operate 30 hectares a day. Using drones to quickly complete operations during the foliar fertilization period of paddy fields could increase crop yields by 700 to 2,000 yuan per hectare.

“This year, the county’s crop planting reached 57,000 hectares, of which 11,000 hectares were applied by plant protection drones.” According to Yu Wenbin, deputy head of the county agricultural machinery management station, plant protection drones with high efficiency, good application effect, low scale cost advantages, 2.8 meters long, 2.6 meters wide, 0.8 meters high body, can carry 60 liters of insecticide pesticides or fertilizer, is becoming a good helper for farmers farming. During the operation of the plant protection UAV, the downward airflow generated by the rotor can blow the leaf surface of crops, thus improving the effect of pesticide control. By remote control, the spraying operators can avoid exposure to pesticides, improve the safety of spraying operations, and can save half of the pesticide use.

In order to guide farmers to cultivate fields scientifically, in recent years, Wangqing County has placed an important position on the upgrading of agricultural machinery technology, and guided farmers to expand the use proportion of plant protection drones through continuous training and demonstration of plant protection drones. On August 1st this year, Wangqing County conducted the first batch of teaching pilot in Chunyang Town. During the one-month training period, a total of 31 farmers participated in the study. Through theoretical explanation, on-site demonstration and practical operation, the students understood and mastered the application technology of plant protection UAV