Solid fertilizer application in citrus fields with an unmanned industrial helicopter
2020
Kageyama, C. | Emoto, Y. | Masui, S. | Tsuchida, Y. | Nakayama, H. | Kawashima, K.
To develop methods for using an industrial unmanned helicopter in agricultural fields, this study examined the fertilizer application methods and influence of these on citrus trees. When the uniform spraying of a field was carried out using a granule spraying device attached to an unmanned helicopter or the granular blending fertilizer for the annual fertilization system, although the starting point of the spraying and the areas on both sides of the field were less, the spraying was carried out in a moderately uniform manner in the flight direction. However, the variation in the lateral direction of the flight was large. Next, when the fertilizer was applied in a 4 m width, mainly right above a tree, it spreads more under the crown and this method is considered to be more suitable for citrus cultivation. The spraying efficiency was reduced from 36% to 21% compared to hand spraying, but no improvement was observed considering the hours of labor. The soil chemical properties, inorganic components in the leaves of citrus trees, and fruit quality in the first year after fertilizer application by an unmanned helicopter were not significantly different from those when the same fertilizer was hand-applied or when a conventional fertilizer was applied. In the future, it will be necessary to further investigate the long-term effects of repeated multiannual spraying of fertilizers using the unmanned helicopter on citrus trees, to develop an optimal spraying method for steep slopes, and also to consider the spraying efficiency of the method used.
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