Experimental study reveals flight height and canopy position alter pesticide droplet deposition in mountainous coffee crops, indicating enhanced spray efficiency in the lower canopy.
Key Points
Characterize unmanned aerial vehicle spray quality and droplet spectrum behavior across different flight heights and canopy target positions in a mountainous coffee plantation.
Tested three drone flight heights (2.5 m, 3.0 m, and 4.0 m) in a mountainous coffee plantation.
Placed 12 water-sensitive paper targets per plant, divided equally between the upper and lower canopy positions.
Quantified droplet coverage percentage, drop density, volumetric diameters (Dv0.1, VMD, Dv0.9), numerical median diameter, and relative amplitude using CIR 1.5 software.
Flight height significantly modified only the 10% volumetric diameter (Dv0.1), numerical median diameter, and surface coverage percentage.
Target location across the vertical canopy influenced all evaluated droplet spectrum and deposition parameters, demonstrating higher spray efficiency in the lower plant section.