Development and Prospect of UAV-Based Aerial Electrostatic Spray Technology in China

Abstract

Aerial electrostatic spray technology for agriculture is the integration of precision agricultural aviation and electrostatic spray technology. It is one of the research topics that have been paid close attention to by scholars in the field of agricultural aviation. This study summarizes the development of airborne electrostatic spray technology for agricultural use in China, including the early research and exploration of Chinese institutions and researchers in the aspects of nozzle structure design optimization and theoretical simulation. The research progress of UAV-based aerial electrostatic spray technology for agricultural use in China was expounded from the aspects of nozzle modification, technical feasibility study, influencing mechanism of various factors, and field efficiency tests. According to the current development of agricultural UAVs and the characteristics of the farmland environment in China, the UAV-based aerial electrostatic spray technology, which carries the airborne electrostatic spray system on the plant protection UAVs, has a wide potential in the future. At present, the application of UAV-based aerial electrostatic spray technology has yet to be further improved due to several factors, such as the optimization of the test technology for charged droplets, the impact of UAV rotor wind field, comparison study on charging modes, and the lack of technical accumulation in the research of aerial electrostatic spray technology. With the continuous improvement of the research system of agricultural aviation electrostatic spray technology, UAV-based electrostatic spray technology will give play to the advantages in increasing the droplets deposition on the target and reducing environmental pollution from the application of pesticides. This study is capable of providing a reference for the development of the UAV-based agricultural electrostatic spray technology and the spray equipment.

Special Issue on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

“…In this context, aerial electrostatic spray is a technology of interest for reducing environmental pollution from application of pesticides. A review on the development of such a technology in China is presented in [20].…”

Characteristics of unmanned aerial spraying systems and related spray drift: A review

“…In 2014 China owned less than 1,000 plant protection drones, with an annual operating area lesser than 0.28 million ha. By the end of 2020, the number of drones in China reached 106,000, with a total yearly working area of 64 million ha ( Zhang et al, 2021 ). In Europe, due to restrictions in application of plant protection products with aerial technology (128/CE/2009), UASS have not yet been used at a large scale yet ( Reger et al, 2018 ).…”

Effect of flight velocity on droplet deposition and drift of combined pesticides sprayed using an unmanned aerial vehicle sprayer in a peach orchard

“…Therefore, active measures must be taken to reduce the impact of diseases and pests. Currently, the most widely used method for the prevention and control of diseases and pests involves spraying chemical pesticides on crops ( Chen et al, 2021 ; Sparks and Bryant, 2021 ; Zhang Y.L. et al, 2021 ).…”