Effect of Operational Parameters of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on Droplet Deposition in Trellised Pear Orchard
Background: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly being used commercially for crop protection in East Asia as a new type of equipment for pesticide applications, which is receiving more and more attention worldwide. A new model of pear cultivation called the ‘Double Primary Branches Along...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | Drones |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/7/1/57 |
| _version_ | 1827626693139890176 |
|---|---|
| author | Peng Qi Lanting Zhang Zhichong Wang Hu Han Joachim Müller Tian Li Changling Wang Zhan Huang Miao He Yajia Liu Xiongkui He |
| author_facet | Peng Qi Lanting Zhang Zhichong Wang Hu Han Joachim Müller Tian Li Changling Wang Zhan Huang Miao He Yajia Liu Xiongkui He |
| author_sort | Peng Qi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly being used commercially for crop protection in East Asia as a new type of equipment for pesticide applications, which is receiving more and more attention worldwide. A new model of pear cultivation called the ‘Double Primary Branches Along the Row Flat Type’ standard trellised pear orchards (FT orchard) is widely used in China, Japan, Korea, and other Asian countries because it saves manpower and is suitable for mechanization compared to traditional spindle and open-center cultivation. The disease and pest efficacy of the flat-type trellised canopy structure of this cultivation is a great challenge. Therefore, a UAV spraying trial was conducted in an FT orchard, and a four-factor (SV: Spray application volume rate, FS: Flight speed, FH: Flight height, FD: Flight direction) and 3-level orthogonal test were designed. Results: These data were used to analyze the effect, including spray coverage, deposit density, coefficient of variation, and penetration coefficient on the canopy, to determine the optimal operating parameters of the UAV for pest efficacy in FT orchards. The analysis of extremes of variance showed that factor FD had a significant effect on both spray coverage and deposition density. Followed by factor FS, which had a greater effect on spray coverage (<i>p</i> < 0.05), and factor SV, FH, which had a greater effect on deposition density (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The effects of different factors on spray coverage and deposit density were FD > FS > FH > SV, FD > FH > SV > FS, in that order. The SV3-FS1-FH1-FD3, which flight along the row with an application rate of 90 L/ha, a flight speed of 1.5 m/s, and a flight height of 4.5 m, was the optimal combination, which produced the highest deposit density and spray coverage. It was determined through univariate analysis of all experimental groups, using droplet density of 25/cm<sup>2</sup> and spray coverage of 1%, and uniformity of 40% as the measurement index, that T4 and T8 performed the best and could meet the control requirements in different horizontal and vertical directions of the pear canopy. The parameters were as follows: flight along the tree rows, application rate not less than 75 L/ha, flight speed no more than 2 m/s, and flight height not higher than 5 m. Conclusion: This article provides ample data to promote innovation in the use of UAVs for crop protection programs in pergola/vertical trellis system orchards such as FT orchards. At the same time, this project provided a comprehensive analysis of canopy deposition methods and associated recommendations for UAV development and applications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:00:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ce18adee2615493ab18d2c567e1987e9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2504-446X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:00:10Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Drones |
| spelling | doaj.art-ce18adee2615493ab18d2c567e1987e92023-11-30T21:55:40ZengMDPI AGDrones2504-446X2023-01-01715710.3390/drones7010057Effect of Operational Parameters of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on Droplet Deposition in Trellised Pear OrchardPeng Qi0Lanting Zhang1Zhichong Wang2Hu Han3Joachim Müller4Tian Li5Changling Wang6Zhan Huang7Miao He8Yajia Liu9Xiongkui He10College of Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaCollege of Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaTropics and Subtropics Group, Institute of Agricultural Engineering, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, GermanyCollege of Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaTropics and Subtropics Group, Institute of Agricultural Engineering, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, GermanyCollege of Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaCollege of Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaCollege of Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaCollege of Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaCollege of Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaCollege of Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaBackground: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly being used commercially for crop protection in East Asia as a new type of equipment for pesticide applications, which is receiving more and more attention worldwide. A new model of pear cultivation called the ‘Double Primary Branches Along the Row Flat Type’ standard trellised pear orchards (FT orchard) is widely used in China, Japan, Korea, and other Asian countries because it saves manpower and is suitable for mechanization compared to traditional spindle and open-center cultivation. The disease and pest efficacy of the flat-type trellised canopy structure of this cultivation is a great challenge. Therefore, a UAV spraying trial was conducted in an FT orchard, and a four-factor (SV: Spray application volume rate, FS: Flight speed, FH: Flight height, FD: Flight direction) and 3-level orthogonal test were designed. Results: These data were used to analyze the effect, including spray coverage, deposit density, coefficient of variation, and penetration coefficient on the canopy, to determine the optimal operating parameters of the UAV for pest efficacy in FT orchards. The analysis of extremes of variance showed that factor FD had a significant effect on both spray coverage and deposition density. Followed by factor FS, which had a greater effect on spray coverage (<i>p</i> < 0.05), and factor SV, FH, which had a greater effect on deposition density (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The effects of different factors on spray coverage and deposit density were FD > FS > FH > SV, FD > FH > SV > FS, in that order. The SV3-FS1-FH1-FD3, which flight along the row with an application rate of 90 L/ha, a flight speed of 1.5 m/s, and a flight height of 4.5 m, was the optimal combination, which produced the highest deposit density and spray coverage. It was determined through univariate analysis of all experimental groups, using droplet density of 25/cm<sup>2</sup> and spray coverage of 1%, and uniformity of 40% as the measurement index, that T4 and T8 performed the best and could meet the control requirements in different horizontal and vertical directions of the pear canopy. The parameters were as follows: flight along the tree rows, application rate not less than 75 L/ha, flight speed no more than 2 m/s, and flight height not higher than 5 m. Conclusion: This article provides ample data to promote innovation in the use of UAVs for crop protection programs in pergola/vertical trellis system orchards such as FT orchards. At the same time, this project provided a comprehensive analysis of canopy deposition methods and associated recommendations for UAV development and applications.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/7/1/57unmanned aerial vehicledroplet depositionspray coveragedroplet densityorthogonal experimentpear orchard |
| spellingShingle | Peng Qi Lanting Zhang Zhichong Wang Hu Han Joachim Müller Tian Li Changling Wang Zhan Huang Miao He Yajia Liu Xiongkui He Effect of Operational Parameters of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on Droplet Deposition in Trellised Pear Orchard Drones unmanned aerial vehicle droplet deposition spray coverage droplet density orthogonal experiment pear orchard |
| title | Effect of Operational Parameters of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on Droplet Deposition in Trellised Pear Orchard |
| title_full | Effect of Operational Parameters of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on Droplet Deposition in Trellised Pear Orchard |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Operational Parameters of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on Droplet Deposition in Trellised Pear Orchard |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Operational Parameters of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on Droplet Deposition in Trellised Pear Orchard |
| title_short | Effect of Operational Parameters of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on Droplet Deposition in Trellised Pear Orchard |
| title_sort | effect of operational parameters of unmanned aerial vehicle uav on droplet deposition in trellised pear orchard |
| topic | unmanned aerial vehicle droplet deposition spray coverage droplet density orthogonal experiment pear orchard |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/7/1/57 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pengqi effectofoperationalparametersofunmannedaerialvehicleuavondropletdepositionintrellisedpearorchard AT lantingzhang effectofoperationalparametersofunmannedaerialvehicleuavondropletdepositionintrellisedpearorchard AT zhichongwang effectofoperationalparametersofunmannedaerialvehicleuavondropletdepositionintrellisedpearorchard AT huhan effectofoperationalparametersofunmannedaerialvehicleuavondropletdepositionintrellisedpearorchard AT joachimmuller effectofoperationalparametersofunmannedaerialvehicleuavondropletdepositionintrellisedpearorchard AT tianli effectofoperationalparametersofunmannedaerialvehicleuavondropletdepositionintrellisedpearorchard AT changlingwang effectofoperationalparametersofunmannedaerialvehicleuavondropletdepositionintrellisedpearorchard AT zhanhuang effectofoperationalparametersofunmannedaerialvehicleuavondropletdepositionintrellisedpearorchard AT miaohe effectofoperationalparametersofunmannedaerialvehicleuavondropletdepositionintrellisedpearorchard AT yajialiu effectofoperationalparametersofunmannedaerialvehicleuavondropletdepositionintrellisedpearorchard AT xiongkuihe effectofoperationalparametersofunmannedaerialvehicleuavondropletdepositionintrellisedpearorchard |