Successful test flights of the drone were conducted in the Shimsky district on the territory of the agricultural cooperative "Oratai". Due to its application, potato tops were dried, which led to the drying of the aboveground part of the plants, thereby accelerating the maturation of tubers. This procedure accelerates the maturation of tubers, contributes to the thickening of the peel, brings the harvest closer and prolongs the shelf life, as well as prevents the spread of infections and the appearance of diseases such as late blight.
The flights were run by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Novgorod Region with the scientific and technical support of the St. Petersburg Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SPC RAS). The active substance Diquat was used.
As noted Sergey Morozov, the representative of the agricultural cooperative "Oratai", according to the processing results the pesticide qualitatively lay on the sheet plate, reaching the lower tier due to the air flows’ turbulence. The positive results were recorded three days after the experiment. At the same time, high efficiency was observed as compared with the ground spraying. When spraying conventionally, a double treatment is often necessary, since the mentioned spraying does not reach the lower tier of the tops. In the case of a drone spraying, one-time treatment is sufficient. So, the consumption of the active substance is reduced.
Thus, the experiment was considered a success. Consequently, such application of drones has a promising future. Long-range use of spraying drones is also planned at the other farms.
Link to the news: «Центра поддержки развития агропромышленного комплекса Новгородской области» ("Support Center for the development of the agro-industrial complex of the Novgorod region")
