Farming using bullocks was replaced with tractors and mechanized harvesters to enhance and optimize the farming techniques. With the rapidly growing population, global warming, and environmental degradation, there is emerging a major issue of decrease in the availability of fertile land. As by 2050, the global population will be around 10 billion, which would cause shortage of food, and to avoid this problem; new innovative agricultural technology is required such as use of drone technology that can assist in the monitoring of crop growth. Such factors are estimated to augment the growth of the global agriculture drones market









The tedious task of inspecting the crop yields by going on to the field is almost an outdated practice now. The drone technology has enabled the farmers to analyze, plan, and plant the crops, and monitor the fields for ascertain the crop’s health & growth. Now, a single operator can cover more farm area in lesser time by accessing to the live feed of what drone camera is showing. This technology enables the farmer to optimize both, farm profitability and productivity through real time field information. The application of GPS, GNSS and drones in agriculture will help maximize farm yields as well as help the farmer identify which crop is best suited to soil quality along with the geological conditions. This technology also enables the farmers to take precautionary actions in case of any natural disaster.





In addition, drones with defined sensors and high-resolution cameras can flow over thousands of hectares of farms and collect data that can be used to map crop stress, pest damage, and yield per hectare. The farmer would have the precise idea of where to allocate more resources and which areas should be focused more. These augmented facilities are expected to provide a raise to the global agriculture drones market. In addition, drones can be used for various utilities in agriculture such as:





Imaging Technologies





With the adoption of near-infrared (NIR) sensors and multi-spectral sensors (RGB, & RedEdge) in drones, the drone industry has taken visual inspection to the next level. Moreover, NIR sensors help in detecting the light spectrum used by plants for photosynthesis to absorb light. The operator can collect even more detailed plant health information with multi-spectral sensors.





Crop field mapping





The data collected from the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) sensors (including GPS coordinates for each frame) enables the farmer to create a comprehensive map of the crop area. This makes it possible for farmers to optimize the land use and crop variability, where crops are planted.





Crop spraying





Plants need proper fertilization and application of pesticides to maintain crop yields. There are various old methods which are used by the farmers such as driving a vehicle manually through the fields to spray or crop dusting through manned aircraft to spray. Now, with the help of new technologies such as drones which are capable of carrying large quantities of liquid and can be operated safer than crop duster at very low cost; global agriculture drones market is expected to witness a significant growth.













Contact:

Anurag Tiwari