First measurements of spray deposition obtained from UAV spray application technique

Pesticide application using UAV is gaining momentum as a possible crucial technical approach to control insect, diseases and weeds population on the field. To prevent large-scale spread of dissociation or pathogen, a drone can be used not only to record and determine the disease scale, but also for repressing further attack and spreading of diseases. In order to achieve the control of diseases and efficiency of the pesticide application, a pesticide deposition must reach destination target at maximum quantity. Adequate and even uniform pesticide application will increase the efficiency of the application. Deposit quantification analysis was done initially with water-sensitive paper. This method provided coverage data, but not the exact amount of the product that reached the targeted surface due to problem with reading in software. By using tracers, a quantification of the amount of pesticide that has reached the target is achieved. In this case, drone sprayer with flat fan nozzles have been used to test deposition quality of tracer in exchange for pesticides. Maximum deposition was recovered almost 31% of total spraying norm. More than 69% was loose as drift or in other ways. Average deposition of tracer under the drone was between 13.39% and 15.97% which mean that more over 84% are losses. The deposit of tracer is affected not only by wind drift, but also by vortex made by drone turbines.