Effects of Spray Parameters on the Effective Spray Width of Single-Rotor Drone in Sugarcane Plant Protection

Abstract

Sugarcane is the most important sugar crop in the world. The development of sugarcane plant protection by drones is still at the early stage. The evaluation and determination of the effective spray width and droplet distribution in the effective range of aerial spray not only improve the efficiency and quality of the aerial spray operation, but also reduce the pollution of chemical pesticides. To study the influence of the spray parameters of single-rotor drone on the effective spray width and droplet deposition in sugarcane canopy, experiments with two factors (flight height and flight velocity) and three levels were carried out. The results showed that the major factor affecting the effective spray width was drone flying height. For droplet density, the combination of 5.5 m flight height and 2.0 m/s flight velocity was found suitable. Under the condition of 6.0 m of flight height and 2.0 m/s of flight velocity, the effective spray width was the optimal. For droplet deposition uniformity, the combination of 6.0 m flight height and 3.0 m/s flight velocity was suitable. Under the comprehensive consideration, the optimal spraying parameters were chosen as 6.0 m of flight height and 2.5 m/s of flight velocity, which led to the lowest usage of pesticide at 15.38 L/ha. The results of this research can provide guidance for choosing proper parameters of single-rotor drone in sugarcane protection.