China’s Inner Mongolia region proves a rigorous challenge to any crop farmer. Planting corn requires laying seeds at different times of the year, according to the area, resulting in field management issues like year-round weeds and invasive growth. To combat this problem, the industry has turned to UAV weed control services.
Removing weeds from corn seedlings is a complicated, delicate process. To bring efficiency, agricultural research teams stationed in Inner Mongolia conducted experiments with the help of UAVs in 2016.
Unfortunately, drones at the time did not support Intelligent Operation Planning and Smart Operation modes, thus requiring manual control of herbicide flow and spray rate. The team’s first foray into UAV-assisted experimentation ultimately failed.
After learning the lessons from these shortcomings, the team purchased two units of the MG-1 and 10 of the MG-1s, marking a turning point in their mission of plant protection. After hundreds of experiments, the team managed to conduct a successful UAV-based weed control protocol to assist the corn seedlings.
The successful operation ran through May 2017, using the parameters listed below:
Environment Information
| Operation Date | May 31(corn seedlings have sprouted 3-4 leaves) | Location | Zhoujiaweizi, Tongliao, Inner Mongolia |
| Land Type | Dry | Temperature & Wind | 20mpGentle Breeze |
Operation Parameters
| Areas of Dense Weed Growth | |||
| Flight Mode | Flight Route Planning | Flight Speed | 4.2 m/s |
| Flight Altitude | 1.5 m | Route Spacing | 4 m |
| Volume per Acre | 6250 ml | Nozzle Type | Fan-Shaped NozzleXR110001 |
| Areas of Sparse Weed Growth | |||
| Flight Mode | Flight Route Planning | Flight Speed | 5.3 m/s |
| Flight Altitude | 2.5 m | Route Spacing | 5 m |
| Volume per Acre | 6250 ml | Nozzle Type | Fan-Shaped NozzleXR110015 |
Herbicide Information
| Fields with Dense Weed Growth | |||
| Herbicide Name | Type | Concentration of Active Ingredient | Amount per Acre |
| Atrazine | Suspension Concentrate | 50% | 812 g |
| Mesotrione | Suspension Concentrate | 15% | 437 g |
| Fields with Sparse Weed Growth | |||
| Herbicide Name | Type | Concentration of Active Ingredient | Amount per Acre |
| Atrazine | Suspension Concentrate | 50% | 675 g |
| Mesotrione | Suspension Concentrate | 15% | 363 g |
Spraying Effect
Fields with dense weed growth: Before MG-1/MG-1S operation
Fields with dense weed growth: After MG-1/MG-1S operation
Fields with sparse weed growth: Before MG-1/MG-1S operation
Fields with dense sparse growth: After MG-1/MG-1S operation
Conclusion
By just looking at the fields before and after employing the MG-1 and MG-1S drones, the results are stunning. Compared to traditional weed control methods and less intuitive UAV solutions, the MG-1 and MG-1S drones use intelligent functionality to deliver unmatched effectiveness. Such results have attracted more farmers to employ these solutions with each passing season.