One of the most favorable fields of action for drones in civil matters is agriculture. A single drone can monitor hundreds of hectares accurately, and quickly collect diverse information about the field. Besides, Agriculture Spraying Drones are now becoming more used in this sector.
The Spanish company Quaternium is facilitating the spraying task of Spanish farmers. It is using its Hybrix 2.1 hybrid drone for agriculture spraying. These are equipped with almost all the parts of any other sprayer: a tank, a pump to push liquid through the hoses to the nozzles, and a pressure gauge.
HYBRiX drones can transport 10 liters of liquid that can be sprayed on crops at the right time and in the desired area, which makes spraying work easier, faster and more effective. The drone has more than one hour of flight time and can also cover more area than traditional drones that can only fly for 15 minutes and spray only a limited amount.
A few weeks ago, Quaternium carried out some spraying work in Rueda, Spain. Due to the heavy rain, the entry of motorized vehicles to the field was impossible, but thanks to HYBRiX technology farmers were able to spray all their vid fields in one day of work obtaining the expected results.
HYBRiX 2.1 drones are mainly flown 2 – 12 meters above the crop with their 4 rotors creating turbulence in the air that helps to distribute the liquid uniformly. The four nozzles are positioned in such a way that they allow the coverage of the applied products, reaching hidden layers of the crop.
The size of the drone liquid tank is limited to approx. 10 liters and the spray width is up to 6 meters. The application rate is 10-12 liter per hectare, with an irrigation speed of 2 liters/min, according to the company. The airframe supports light rain and dust without a problem, the electronics are inside boxes and we use quality connectors.
This disruptive technology is already available and evolves day by day and the next step is to bring it closer to the producers. For this reason, the manufacturer of this innovative Spanish drone is looking for national companies and producers interested in participating in pilot drone fumigation programs.
It is too soon to come to a conclusion on the effectiveness and drift potential of drone sprayers in large fields, yet the technology shows the potential to change how agriculture spraying is done in upcoming years.
