Plant protection drone "missing" development is still immature

Plant protection drone "missing" development is still immature

According to statistics, in 2015, the number of plant protection UAVs reached 2,324 (31 provincial statistics), with a total operating area of ​​11.528 million mu. Last year, the two figures were 695 and 4.26 million mu, a year-on-year increase of 234% and 170.6% respectively.

But the vision depicted is too good to be realized. Usually, when an industry is just getting started and the new trend becomes clearer, the exaggeration is a magic weapon for many companies to raise funds, attract attention, and seize the market. “Concept> Practical” is considered to be the initial stage of UAV application in the plant protection market. Even some insiders believe that the plant protection drone is still in the absence stage.

Is it really? In the end, what kind of aircraft is called the plant protection drone, what functions should be available to be covered? On this issue, Yuchen.com interviewed Professor Xiongkui and many industry insiders of the Center for Plant Protection Machinery and Application Technology of China Agricultural University.

Technology needs to be tackled

"80% of the plant protection machines on the market are not qualified, and it is not practical in spraying operations." He Xiongkui has long been engaged in the teaching and research of agricultural mechanization projects. He believes that "the flight control system and flight platform of China's plant protection drones." Other technologies need to continue to work hard."

Taking Japan's Yamaha Plant Protection UAV RMAX, after more than 30 years of technical accumulation and continuous improvement, this product has become the benchmark for the global industry.

At present, most of China's plant protection drone companies are transformed by aeromodelling manufacturers. Most of the models produced are electric plant protection drones. The average battery life of the equipment is 8-15 minutes. In the flight defense process, multiple groups need to be prepared. The battery is replaced, and the average price per battery is thousands of dollars, and the cost is higher.

Before the battery endurance is not broken, how to effectively increase the load weight is also a great challenge for plant protection drone companies.

He Xiongkui believes that from the perspective of individual technologies, there have been great breakthroughs in the past two years. However, the application of industrial technology transformation to the agricultural sector requires further understanding and integration of the needs of this industry. "There are not many products that are actually put on the market. For this reason, it can be seen from the 'performance type' that most of the plant protection is not practical."

Lack of matching pesticide application technology

In addition to the technical level of the product, He Xiongkui believes that the application technology of low-altitude and low-volume application of plant protection drones is also a short-term market. The user does not have a scientific and perfect discriminant criterion to determine the process during the spraying process. The application parameters such as droplet size, droplet deposition density, and pesticide concentration are required.

At present, agricultural drones can achieve anti-drift and anti-evaporation to a certain extent, and the degree is also improved. However, problems such as pesticide waste and environmental pollution still exist in a large amount, and the timing, timing, temperature, and The technical requirements for operating specifications such as humidity and wind speed need to be further improved.

Compared with developed countries, there is still a big gap in China's aviation plant protection in terms of the amount of medicine used per unit area, the main varieties of pesticides used, the methods of application, and the utilization rate of pesticides.

Therefore, the active development of low-altitude and low-volume aerial application technology is a common challenge faced by plant protection enterprises and pharmaceutical companies. To this end, He Xiukui suggested that relevant functional departments, research institutes, plant protection drone enterprises, etc. should be united to speed up the development and application of pesticide specifications and testing standards for low-altitude and low-volume aviation-specific pesticide formulations, and conduct field trial research and promotion in a timely manner. . At the same time, the state also needs to introduce relevant support policies for the purchase of plant protection drones and the establishment of specialized service organizations and other subsidies, the establishment and improvement of maintenance and insurance policies.

Guo Yongwang, deputy director of the National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, believes that through the four technological paths of control, replacement, precision and integration, it is possible to effectively control the amount of pesticides, ensure the quality and safety of agricultural products and the safety of ecological environment. By 2020, the use of pesticides will be realized. Zero growth.

The specific explanation is to control, that is, to control the occurrence of pests and diseases; instead, low-toxic and low-residue pesticides replace high-toxic and high-residue pesticides, and large and medium-sized medicines replace low-efficiency small-scale medical equipment; fine, that is, the implementation of scientific application; Promote the control of pests and diseases.

Aviation special agent research and development is not mature

At present, the plant protection drone market is more chaotic, and there is a misconception that the drone can fly and spray. However, He Xiongkui told Yuchen.com that this kind of cognition is wrong. The large number of plant protection drones on the market is only suitable for water spray. It is not suitable for low-capacity and ultra-low-capacity application. The key reason is the special spray matched with it. System and aviation plant protection special pharmacy.

He Xiukui said that the aviation plant protection drone uses ultra-low-volume spray, and the pesticide dosage form should be good with oil, followed by emulsifiable concentrate, water emulsion, etc., but most of the pesticide formulations sold on the market are wettable powder, suspending agent and dispersion. Granules, etc., are used in traditional artificial spray equipment and are not suitable for aviation operations.

The characteristics of aviation special agents should be: anti-drift, anti-evaporation, high deposition, wet penetration, and rain-resistant. In the current market, the non-plant protection machine-specific pesticide preparations and low-altitude low-volume application operation specifications are still in the research and development stage.

How to solve this problem is also a problem that many plant protection drone companies and pharmaceutical companies are actively discussing. For example, Shenzhen Nuopuxin and Jiangsu Kesheng Group have set up a special aviation and pharmaceuticals and auxiliary research and development department, which is conducting research in this area.

So, what kind of medicine is used by drones? He Xiongkui told Yuchen. When plant protection drones are used, the amount of liquid per acre of general crops is 300-1000ml. The concentration of liquid medicine is very high, which is easy to cause phytotoxicity to crops. Therefore, special ultra-low volume spray is generally used. The ultra-low-volume dosage form must have the characteristics of anti-evaporation, anti-drift, and good safety. In addition, it requires high activity of ingredients, low dosage of acre, and internal conductivity, which is safe for crops.

In the interview with Yuchen.com, the relevant person in charge of Kesheng Group said that the research and development of special agents for aviation spraying should be based on the particularity of the operation. For example, wettable powder is not ideal for aviation operations, so the dosage form The choice is mainly based on water-based water, suspending agent and water emulsion, and high-content registered products are selected; special additives should be added on the premise of stabilizing the original formula to reduce the volatilization and drift of the agent during spraying. And other issues.

Drone pilot lacks agricultural knowledge

UAVs have been tested in the plant protection market for some time, and it has been proven that drone pilots are an indispensable "productivity."

He Xiongkui pointed out that the field of plant protection drones is different from other UAV applications. In terms of operation height and speed, it is generally high-altitude and high-speed, while plant protection requires low-altitude and low-speed, and it is higher in flight stability and height. Requirements; from the aspect of pesticide application technology, it is necessary to select different pesticide varieties, spray concentration, and technical parameters for application according to different crops. These are not the tasks that the pilot or the controller can do in a general sense.

Guo Yongwang, deputy director of the National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, also pointed out that from the current practical experience, the plant protection drone is not suitable for farmers to buy and use. The main reason is that the operation is difficult and the spray is uneven, resulting in control effect. Poor; and the cost of purchasing the drone is high, and the farmers are using it inefficiently; in addition, maintenance is difficult and professional training is required.

In particular, it can be seen that the training of drone pilots adapted to agricultural modernization is equally urgent. He Xiukui said that it is necessary to guide institutions of higher learning and scientific research institutes to carry out agricultural technology services. For example, the Agricultural University and the Ministry of Agriculture jointly carry out relevant talent cultivation projects. In the future, it may be possible to export professional professional farmers directly to enterprises.

With the application of drones in the field of plant protection, a large number of drone pilots will become agricultural technical talents in the future, not only capable of operating drones, but also possessing corresponding plant protection knowledge and application techniques.