Precision agriculture, also known as precision agriculture, is a way farmers manage their crops to ensure that inputs such as water and fertilizer are efficient and to maximize productivity, quality and yield. Precision agriculture also includes prevention of pests, floods and crop diseases.
Farmers can use drones to continuously monitor the condition of crops and livestock from the air, quickly identifying problems that don't show up in spot checks on the ground. For example, they can use time-lapse drones to find parts of crops that are not properly irrigated.
What are agricultural drones?
Agricultural drone technology has continued to improve over the past few years, and the benefits of drones in agriculture have become increasingly clear, with applications ranging from mapping to surveying to crop spraying. On the surface, agricultural drones are no different from other types of drones, with simple changes to suit farmers' needs. However, several drones are being developed specifically for agricultural use.
The use of drones in agriculture is increasing.
Agricultural UAV Technology
The process of mapping or measuring crops using drones is relatively simple. Many newer agricultural drone models come equipped with flight-planning software that allows the user to map around the area he needs to cover. The software then automatically plots the flight path and, in some cases, even prepares it for camera shots.
When the drone is in flight, it automatically takes pictures using onboard sensors and built-in cameras, and uses GPS to decide when to take each picture. But if your drone doesn't have these automatic features, you need one person to operate the drone and another person to take pictures.
Crop dusting/spraying
Drones can spray more accurately than traditional tractors
In 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration approved the Yamaha RMAX, a Japanese drone weighing more than 55 pounds, as the first plant protection drone to be used to load fertilizers and pesticides for crop spraying. The drones can spray crops more accurately than traditional tractors. This helps reduce costs and, for farmers who spray by hand, the potential for pesticide exposure.
UAV, let agriculture "fly" up
Drones have revolutionized the industry by providing farmers with significant cost savings, increased efficiency and increased profitability. By quickly surveying large tracts of farmland, drones can map the land, report on the health of crops, improve spraying accuracy, and monitor livestock and irrigation systems.
The ability of drones to collect and analyze data in real time has led to tangible results for farmers, such as increased crop yields, reduced resources devoted to weeds and herbicides, and overall improved management decisions.
