Two Times Faster Than Manual Spraying Method: Rubber Tree Powdery Mildew Solution With DJI AGRAS T30

The rubber tree (Hevea brarileneis) is an industrial crop of the castor family native to South America, which were first introduced to Vietnam in 1877. After more than a century of cultivation, rubber trees have been considered as an important industrial crop of high economic value. The liquid extracted from the sap of rubber trees (called latex) can be collected as the main material in producing natural rubber. Besides, the trunk of rubber tree can be produced into furniture while the oil from rubber seeds are considered healthy cooking ingredient. In addition, rubber cultivation is also beneificial for the ecosystem as the trees cover bare lands, as well as prevents erosion, etc.

 

Image of rubber forest

 

Because of the high economic value, farmers put much efforts into the cultivation and pest control of rubber trees to improve the yield as well as to save costs and efforts.

 

Powdery mildew is a common disease in rubber trees. Therefore, it is crucial to protect and increase the nutrition of leaves on rubber trees. Healthy leaves contribute to increasing latex production in rubber trees.

 

Powdery mildew on rubber trees

 

As a perennial industrial crop grown in mountainous areas with tall trunk, there are many obstacles during the cultivation process, especially when spraying pesticides and taking care of plants.

 

The average height of rubber trees is about 20 meters, which significantly decreases the productivity of pesticide spraying. Manual spraying only solves the bottom of the tree trunk, but cannot spray the top of the tree, which affects the yield of rubber trees.

 

With the development of science and technology, drones can spray evenly at the top of the trees to make the entire process more cost-effectively, saving more time and labor. 

 

Conversation witih farmers in Kontum about Drones

 

Recently, Phuong Tin Plant Protection Team arrived in Kon Tum for an operation to prevent powdery mildew on rubber trees and had a workshop with farmers to introduce the benefits that drones can bring to rubber trees.

 

The spraying drone working from the air is capable of spraying evenly from the top to the bottom of the tree, avoiding misses, and ensuring even and sufficient spraying. This helps save labor costs, as well as lower the health risk during the operation, etc. After that, the team sprayed a total of 8 hectares of rubber trees in Kon Tum. This is the stage of young leaves, also known as crow's feet when people are stopping latex extraction and conducting spraying to nourish and kill powdery mildew on the leaves to help the leaves stay healthy and increase yield.

 

The team consists of 2 pilots and 1 DJI Agras T30 aircraft deployed white fungus prevention and leaf maintenance campaign on rubber trees within 8 hours on January 18, 2023. With an average height of 15-20 meters, the spraying drone has confirmed its advantages, helping to spray evenly from the top to the base, overcoming the problem that the manual spraying method cannot do.

 

Leaves before spraying

 

Leaves after spraying

 

The drone sprays evenly on the leaves, which can be obviously seen in the images before and after spraying. This confirms that the drone has sprayed enough doses and sprayed effectively on the rubber tree.

 

The DJI Agras T30 Drone sprays rubber trees in Kontum

 

 

Spraying Parameters (Please contact us for details about chemicals used)

 

Date	(18/01/2023)	Terrain	Mountainous
Weather	Sunny	Altitude	6m
Equipment	DJI Agras T30	Flight speed	1.6m/s
Flight altitude	5m – 6m	Flight mode	Automatic
Chemical type and dosage per Hectare
Nacen Amino biological nitrogen foliar fertilizer		4000ml/ha
Natracol Micronutrient fertilizer		2500ml/ha

 

Specific Operation information in Kon Tum

 

Area 1
Area	2 hectare	Flight time	2h – 4h
Dosage	120 L/ha	Fertilizer type	Nacen Amino biological nitrogen foliar fertilizer and Natracol Micronutrient fertilizer

 

Mapping area 1

 

The remote controller image 

 

Area 2
Area	3 hectares	Flight time	14h – 16h
Dosage	120 L/ha	Fertilizer type	Nacen Amino biological nitrogen foliar fertilizer and Natracol Micronutrient fertilizer

 

Mapping area 2

 

The remote controller image

 

Area  3
Area	3 hectares	Flight time	16h – 18h
Dosage	120l/ha	Fertilizer type	Nacen Amino biological nitrogen foliar fertilizer and Natracol Micronutrient fertilizer

 

Mapping area 3

 

The remote controller image

 

Outstanding Result: Two times Faster Than Traditional Manual Spraying

 

After only 8 hours, Phuong Tin's crew completed the work of spraying and preventing powdery mildew on rubber trees on a total area of ​​8 hectares, it is 2 times faster than traditional manual spraying.

 

With the DJI Agras T30, the work is completed in just 8 hours, without losing much labor and affecting the farmer's health. In addition, with the water drop effect of DJI Agras T30, the amount of pesticide is evenly covered on both sides of the leaves, from the top down. This saves the cost of pesticides, labor, and time-consuming and brings higher efficiency compared with traditional manual spray.

 

After spraying, we talked and conducted survey with the people who came to participate and we received affirmation and recognition from them. 

“Spraying by drone is much more convenient than traditional manual spraying. Manual method can not spray to the top of the tree; drone sprays from above to help ensure the amount of spray from root to tip, which helps us a lot.”

 

Farmers observed and commented on the effectiveness of the spraying drone

 

“This is an important stage, the leaves must be healthy to produce high latex output. Spraying by drone is really effective, it sprays evenly from top to bottom, avoids misses and has little effect on human health.”

Farmers osevered and commented on the effectiveness of the spraying drone

 

Phuong Tin has more than 4years of experience in operating Spraying Drone on fruit trees, industrial plants, etc. We have brought the Spraying Drone model to many areas and received high praises for its superiority. It helps people reduce the cost and time to deploy spraying in the seasons. 

 

Case Study Source: 

PhuongTin (AirWorks Vietnam)

Company Detail: We've spent years developing DJI's Agricultural Technology, from Spray to Multispectral for its comprehensiveness and ease of use for Farmers. Currently we have nearly 20 employees, more than 2000 hectares of fruit trees and industry are spraying until now. Being a reliable partner for Fruit Farmers and Industry in Vietnam.

Contact Person: Binh UAV

Contact info: - Phone: (+84) 569008888 - (+84) 568000888