Assessing the potential spray drift of a six‐rotor unmanned aerial vehicle sprayer using a test bench and airborne drift collectors under low wind velocities: impact of atomization characteristics and application parameters

Abstract BACKGROUND The unmanned aerial spraying systems (UASS) have gained widespread use for plant protection in recent years. However, spray drift from UASS is a major concern when controlling weeds over large areas and warrants a thorough investigation. This study examined the atomization characteristics of the herbicide florpyrauxifen‐benzyl under downwash airflow using a UASS spray test platform. Potential spray drift was assessed using a test bench (TB) and airborne drift collectors (ADCs) in the field under low wind speeds (<1 m s −1 ). RESULTS Atomization characteristics were significantly affected by the spray liquid, adjuvant, nozzle type and spray pressure. The addition of an adjuvant reduced the liquid sheet length, improved physicochemical properties and increased droplet size under the downwash airflow field. Drift evaluation in the field using the TB revealed that sediment spray drift predominantly occurred from the middle to the entire length of the device when fine‐to‐medium droplets were produced after the sprayer passed. ADC assessment found that higher flight altitudes and finer droplets resulted in higher drift values, whereas the addition of an adjuvant and the use of an air‐induction nozzle reduced drift <3 m aboveground. CONCLUSION The combination of using TB in the target area and ADCs in the off‐target area as an alternative method to determine residual droplets in the current airflow provided valuable insights into airborne drift assessment for UASS. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.