Comparative Efficacy of Drone Application in Chemical Spraying at Paddy Field MADA Kedah

Abstract

Although chemical spraying was critical in paddy management, not all methods were efficient and effective. The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of manual spraying versus drone spraying in a paddy field. The research was conducted at rice granaries in Kampung Alor Gandak, Mukim Limbong, Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia. Despite the challenges of modern technology, many farmers continue to rely on low-tech practises rather than advanced methods. Following that, only a few farmers in Malaysia began to use drones for chemical spraying. This demonstrates that only a minority of farmers are aware of and accept the use of drones in paddy field management. The field efficiency was calculated and proven that the field efficiency improved by 9.08% as after the application of drone spraying. The result has shown that drone spraying has the higher efficacy and the correlation also strong. The regression shown that drone spraying has the higher percentage of yield to be explained with the time taken of spraying. Conclusively, the results can encourage the improvement of mechanization quality in an effort increase the field efficiency as to increase the yield that can lead to profit gained for the growers.