The future of farming is here using drones for crop spraying. There are several ways to spray crops: manually via farm tractors, automated above ground water irrigation system, hired aircraft spraying, or using automated drones. Depending on the land acreage, drone spraying technology may be the faster and less expensive method. The benefits are portability, safety, low labor costs, and easy to use!
Crop Spraying Drone
A recent technology TV program promoted aerial crop spraying using automated drone aircraft. The drone hovers about 10 feet above ground and starts spraying the crops using the propellors to push the spray downwards into the crops. If there is a little wind, this method would be better than the other spraying methods.
The drones can be used for spraying ground-based crops or even fruit trees, which makes it ideal for all kinds of agriculture. With its long-term battery power good for 1,000 cycles and less than 15 minutes to recharge, this product could be a farmer’s best friend! Costs vary from $15K to $30K and some models can be rented.
These drones can spray up to 50 acres per hour with a 20 to 36 foot spray width with automated precision. The drones use a combination of radar, cameras, and artificial intelligence to map their terrain. They are ideal for long term use of spraying pesticides and fertilizers besides resisting dust and corrosion. The remote controller can be operated up to three miles from the drone, which makes it easy to track the drone and watch the spraying remotely.
There are several automated drone vendors including Frontier Precison and Hylio. Each vendor has different models depending on your preferences. This is another great use of technology helping the farming industry. The next step is automated crop picking, which is also available for certain crops. Bob Larson is a technologist and our Marketing Director at 50 Plus.