A scientist of the St. Petersburg Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SPC RAS) has participated in the Novbiotech project, funded by the Innovations’ Promotion Foundation; within the project, was developed a prototype of a module for laser irradiation of agricultural land installed on an unmanned aerial vehicle (introduced at SPC RAS).Experiments on the use of such a system in treatment of perennial grasses forming animals’ feed have demonstrated a substantial increase in the productivity of some agricultural crops.
"We have successfully completed the project on laser stimulation of agricultural crops aimed at their productivity increasing. For this purpose, a special complex was created, consisting of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a laser installation developed by us. The software and hardware complex developed in our laboratory allows the drone to set all necessary parameters for drawing up a route, adjust the radiation parameters so that it can treat a piece of agricultural land autonomously," says a project participant, Head of the Laboratory of autonomous robotic systems of the St. Petersburg Institute for Informatics and Automation of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SPIIRAS - the SPC RAS structural division) Anton Savelyev.
It should be noted that the device for crops laser stimulation, mounted on the drone introduced by SPC RAS, was developed by Novbiotech. "By itself, laser radiation does not directly increase the crops’ productivity. However, at night the photoreceptors of the vegetative parts of plants are able to perceive the red spectrum light; they transform it and transmit a signal inside the cell, triggering a cascade mechanism for the synthesis of chlorophyll. At the same time, the synthesis of glucose, the main source of energy, is activated, that ultimately leads to an increase in the processes of the substances’ synthesis," says Natalia Sevostyanova, Doctor of Sciences, the Novbiotech founder.
"Due to this, we achieve changes in the characteristics of crops: in their biomass, as well as in the contained final elements. These are mainly proteins and carbohydrates. Moreover, the amount of proteins can increase to 5-7%, and the amount of carbohydrates can increase by 100%. The increase in biomass is from 8 to 10%," the researcher clarifies.
The experiments were run on a plot with an area of about 1 hectare (however, when necessary, the drone can treat the fields of various areas and landscapes). Perennial grasses of domestic selection used for feeding farm animals were planted on the field. The drone irradiated crops from a height of about 10 meters with a laser trace of 0. 5x0. 5 meters: it took four seconds for one site of the kind.
"Based on the map of the area and our algorithms, a route is formed to execute the task of irradiating the specified area. In addition, we have developed a formula that connects the laser parameters, the irradiation time and the flight altitude of the UAV, "explains Anton Savelyev.
In the future, the researchers plan to apply their technology to other plant species. In particular, experiments have already been carried out on potatoes, and so far the results of this work are being processed.
This project was initiated and is being developed with the support of the Innovations’ Promotion Foundation; it was among the top 100 projects of the Archipelago 2121 design and educational intensive and received the approval of the Governor of the Novgorod Region.