Pest and disease risk and management in high-density perennial crops: Current knowledge and areas of future research

Lindell, Catherine A.; Irish-Brown, Amy; Rothwell, Nikki; Wallis, Anna

doi:10.1016/j.cropro.2022.106150

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Recently, superhigh-density orchards have gained prominence and represent most new plantations. Moreover, some traditional olive orchards are converted to superhigh-density or hedgerow orchards yearly due to their reduced human labor requirements, earlier returns on investment, consistency in yield, and efficient management ( Lindell et al., 2023 ). Furthermore, some studies suggest that super high-density orchards may have some environmental benefits over traditional production systems, and they exhibit a lower impact on climate change per ton of production ( Ben Abdallah et al., 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing environmental exposure to PPPs in super-high density olive orchards using UAV sprayers

Sánchez-Fernández,

Barrera-Báez,

Martínez-Guanter

et al. 2024

Front. Plant Sci.

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The increasing demand for optimizing the use of agricultural resources will require the adoption of cutting-edge technologies and precision farming management. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) sprayers seem promising due to their potential to perform precision or spot spraying, particularly in woody crop environments where total surface spraying is unnecessary. However, incorporating this technology is limited by the lack of scientific knowledge about the environmental risks associated with UAV sprayers and the strict legal framework. Nonetheless, these spraying systems’ characteristic downwash airflow and the limited swath width can potentially mitigate drift in hedgerow crops. During our study we performed comparative studies aimed to compare the airborne drift, soil, and crop depositions between a conventional orchard sprayer and a UAV sprayer in a commercial superhigh-density orchard in the South Iberian Peninsula in 2022. Our findings reveal that, in superhigh-density olive orchards, the UAV sprayer presents a substantial reduction in airborne drift, while soil depositions showed no significant differences compared to those of a conventional terrestrial orchard sprayer. Crop depositions were significantly lower when utilizing the UAV sprayer. These results suggest that introducing UAV spraying technology in Mediterranean agricultural systems, under specific scenarios, can effectively reduce the environmental impact of crop spraying and encourage the responsible use of plant protection products (PPPs).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%