USE OF DRONES IN CROP PROTECTION

Modern management in sustainable agriculture requires the fast information about condition of cultivated plants and the quick response to undesirable phenomena such as appearance of pests. The use of drones for spraying plants will allow for rapid application of plant protection agents on the growing areas. In this paper were presented results of research into the impact of rotors rotary speed of moving drone on the spray deposition on plant surfaces. The liquid was sprayed from the drone with the use of the XR 11002 flat fan nozzle at the pressure 0.2 MPa. The drone moved on a track with the permanent speed of 1.3 m.s(-1). The liquid sprayed, which was water coloured with nigrosin, settled on foil testers that were secured on three levels (the upper leaf surface, the middle part of the plant, the level of soil under plants) in mustard plants. The height of the sprayer nozzle mounted on the drone over the plants was 0.6 m. The tests were conducted at the zero speed of the rotors and at rotations of 1500 and 4000 revolutions.min(.)(-1) The impact was found of the rotational speed of the drone rotors on the change of the distribution of liquid settling on the testers.