Effect of flight parameters on distribution characteristics of pesticide spraying droplets deposition of plant-protection unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract: As a consequence of population aging and shrinkage in China, the trend of labor shortage for agricultural production has grown and will continue in future. Acceleration of agricultural mechanization has been proposed as a developmental strategy in support of steady and sustainable development of agriculture in China. In alignment with this national developmental plan, the use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for pesticide application contributes to the advancement of plant protection mechanization by providing improved ability to apply pesticide in a time sensitive manner with enhanced safety and efficiency. The flight parameter of UAV was one kind of the most important indices affecting the quality of aerial pesticide application. To explore the distribution characteristics of pesticide spraying droplets deposition of UAV and the effect of flight parameters (flight altitude and velocity) and parameter accuracy on the deposition distribution characteristics, the spraying droplets depositions of 4 models of typical Chinese domestic UAVs (3WQF120-12, Mercury Ⅰ, 3WCJ8-10 and 3WQFTX-10) were tested in the wheat field in Xinxiang City, Henan Province in April, 2017. The high-precision Beidou navigation satellite system was used for recording the accurate working altitude, velocity and track of UAV, and the tartrazine tracer water solution of 0.5% was adopted to replace pesticide liquid for spraying. The filter paper with the diameter of 7 mm was used for collecting spraying droplets from UAV at the height of 0.7 m on the top of the wheat canopy, and the sensor of Zeno-3200 weather station was set at the height of 6 m to record the environmental parameters at test site. The size of the testing field was 50 m × 100 m and there were 15 sampling points in a straight line with 3 duplications for longitudinal droplet deposition distribution and 11 sampling points also with 3 duplications for crosswise one. During every test, the operator controlled the UAV remotely to take off, when the UAV reached the required height, then open the spraying system and make the unmanned aircraft fly over the experimental area according to the planned flight. After tests, the eluent from the filter paper was used to measure the absorbance of the tracer tartrazine by the 722 type spectrophotometer and the droplet deposition in every test was figured out. Combining the flight parameters with their coefficient of variation (CV) and root mean square error (RMSE), the impact factors on deposition distribution characteristics were studied and the results were analyzed by significance and regression analysis via SPSS 20 software. The results showed: The deposition in the area of both ends of flight route varied violently (30%＜CV＜70%) and there were the maximal values, while the deposition in the area of the middle of route was relatively steady (CV＜20%); the main factor impacting the crosswise deposition distribution was the overlap ratio of droplets of adjacent nozzles and spraying swath, and too high or too low overlap ratio both led to the poor uniformity of droplets distribution; with regard to pesticide application operation of single-rotor UAV, at the altitude of 1.1-1.2 m, and the velocity of 4.2-4.9 m/s, there was a high significant positive correlation between average droplets deposition and the RMSE of flight velocity (P＜0.01，r=0.952) and between the CV of the longitudinal droplets deposition and the CV of flight velocity (P＜0.01，r=0.963), and the CV of the total deposition was significantly negatively correlated with the average flight altitude (P＜0.01，r=-0.888). So, the method that the droplets deposition and distribution uniformity were analyzed and predicted by the flight parameters and their accuracy, such as the RMSE and CV of flight velocity and flight altitude, was reasonable, effective and feasible. The results of this study provide some theory reference for the determination of the ideal spraying parameters of UAV pesticide application work, the choice of environmental conditions of UAV operation and the formulation of standard working practice of UAV aerial spraying.