Drone Use in Agriculture
Drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles [UAV’s], are defined as aircraft without a human pilot/crew on board. A typical drone requires a mix of hardware and software components. The hardware is the device itself, and the software is the operational system that receives commands from an operator who is usually located on the ground in the vicinity of the performing drone.
In a Univ. of Maryland Extension article titled “An overview of drones in agriculture”, the following points are provided.
• Drones are usually controlled by an operator located on the ground.
• Drone components consist of: 1) a battery to provide power for the drone functions; 2) propellors for drone movement and stability; 3) a GPS antenna to allow receipt of operator signals for navigation; 4) a payload the drone carries to perform a specific function–e.g. camera for capturing ground/crop images, sensors, sprayer; and 5) landing gear to support the drone during takeoff and landing.
• Drones have on-board sensors, gyroscopes, and navigation systems, and are airborne-capable because of rotors and fixed wings.
• Drones are currently capable of performing tasks such as crop health monitoring and weed and disease detection.
• Drone applications in agriculture are steadily increasing to include cover crop sowing, pesticide spraying, and fertilizer application. Payload capacity will likely limit their use to small areas.
• Current challenges to drone usage include 1) cost concerns, 2) certification requirements imposed by governments, 3) interpretation of drone-collected data, and 4) payload capacities that limit activities.
A 2024 review article titled “Drones in precision agriculture: a comprehensive review of applications, technologies, and challenges” provides the following information.
• This comprehensive review of drone literature provides current information about the transformative role of drone use in agriculture, as well as the various classes of drones–e.g. fixed-wing drones, rotor drones–that can be used for specific operations.
• Drones are presently used for diagnostic applications such as precise crop monitoring and multispectral mapping of a crop, plus precision/targeted application of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers to small areas.
• The rapid evolution of drone technology is paving the way for their use in precision agriculture.
• Regulatory disparities among countries and U.S. states is a significant challenge to increasing drone use in agricultural applications.
• This review is a valuable resource on just where drones can be efficiently and economically used in today’s agriculture sector.
An article titled “Drones vs. sprayers: which one will prevail?“ by Allison Lund indicates that “drone capabilities may not outweigh sprayer technology” since sprayer technology is upgrading rapidly. Things that will influence switching from sprayers to drones are: 1) cost of using one vs. the other; 2) amount of acreage covered by a drone vs. amount covered by a sprayer in an allotted time; and 3) current and forthcoming drone vs. sprayer technology. Presently, the biggest holdback to using a drone to spray a large area that is typical of Midsouth soybean fields is its carrying capacity vs. that of a sprayer. Also, drones will only be capable of applying pesticides in a limited amount of water [e.g. 2-3 gal. of water (the usual carrier for pesticide applications) per acre], so pesticides that require 10-20 gal. of water per acre to accomplish thorough coverage likely will not or cannot be effectively/efficiently applied by drones.
An article titled “Need drone work? Just ask!” by Allison Lynch provides the following important points.
• Drone operators “are eager to learn more about farmers’ needs and offer solutions to fill those gaps.”
• “Just ask” a drone business what they can do and if they will be willing to try to provide a solution to a specific problem or need.
• It is important to determine how use of a drone to accomplish a task will compare to the current way of doing things.
The Miss. Dept. of Agric. & Commerce is the agency that is responsible for regulating pesticides and pesticide applicators in Mississippi. For drone applications in the state, access the MDAC Drone FAQ UAV Pesticide Application portion of the website where the Fact Sheet titled “Pesticide application using UAV’s: What you need to know” is located. This Fact Sheet provides information about who to contact regarding applications of pesticides, seed, and fertilizers using drones in Mississippi.
Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Dec. 2024, larryh91746@gmail.com