LiDAR, interchangeable modules, ultra-low-volume spraying and multispectral imaging are expanding the capabilities of agricultural drones. In practice, however, successful deployment depends not only on machine performance but also on appropriate product application protocols.
This article covers a presentation of a DJI agricultural drone delivered by Andrei Lai of Dron Agro Assistance to a group of fruit and vegetable producers from Uzbekistan. The presentation took place during a study tour to Moldova organised by a joint FAO–EBRD project.
Agricultural drones are increasingly viewed not only as equipment for broad-acre crops but also as tools for orchards and vegetable fields. In the video, participants demonstrate a heavy-duty drone equipped with LiDAR, interchangeable modules and a spray system. They also explain why drone-based application is particularly valuable when ground equipment cannot enter a field at the required time.
The article examines two main uses of agricultural drones: (1) scanning orchards and fields and (2) spraying. Spraying is currently the most widespread and rapidly developing application. Field scanning, however, can substantially improve orchard management and make subsequent applications of plant protection products and fertilisers more efficient.
LiDAR for Scanning Fields and Orchards
One of the key components of modern drones is a laser scanner that enables the aircraft to detect canopy elements and obstacles. According to the presenters, the system can scan individual trees in advance and generate an orchard map.
Such a map can support the rapid detection and correction of localised problems in fields and orchards, helping to prevent yield losses, maintain product quality and reduce risks and costs. In orchard production, this approach can also support more effective blossom thinning, optimise crop load, mitigate alternate bearing, and improve both fruit quality and yield.
The drone first scans the orchard and assesses flowering intensity for each tree. The resulting data can then be used to develop a prescription for applying different volumes of a blossom-thinning product to individual trees. This represents a shift from applying a uniform rate across the entire block to variable-rate treatment at individual-tree level.
The same principle can be used to measure the canopy size of every tree. The information may subsequently guide root pruning of individual trees that are growing faster than others and shading weaker trees. More uniform canopy development can improve fruit yield and quality and help reduce alternate bearing.
LiDAR is also presented as a means of improving flight safety. Participants recall an incident in which a thin, dry branch entered a drone motor: the motor seized, and a detached propeller blade damaged the battery. In their assessment, the new aircraft design and obstacle-detection system should reduce such risks in orchards and vineyards.
The drone is not intended to fly directly through narrow alleys between tree rows. Application is performed from above. Its coaxial rotor configuration generates a strong downward airflow, or downwash, which, according to the presenters, helps carry spray droplets into the lower canopy while the aircraft hovers above a tree for several seconds.
Where orchards are covered by hail nets, self-propelled autonomous sprayer robots are used instead. It is important to recognise that a drone is not necessarily an aircraft: agribusiness also uses autonomous ground vehicles, surface vessels and submersible systems.
One Platform, Several Working Modules
The platform shown in the video is described as versatile. Depending on the task, it can be fitted with:
- a tank and nozzles for liquid application;
- a granular spreader;
- a cargo winch.
In its transport configuration, the tank is removed and the available space can be used for two additional batteries. The winch can lower and lift cargo—for example, carrying crates from parts of an orchard that are difficult for other machinery to reach and moving them to the edge of the field.
A wheeled drone can perform a similar role and can also be used as a robotic transporter.
Less Water, No Less Responsibility
The spray system is equipped with atomisers. The video gives a claimed droplet-size range of 50–500 micrometres. The participants describe this as ultra-low-volume spraying and emphasise that drone application can sharply reduce water use: water serves as the carrier that delivers the product to the target surface.
An insecticide applied at 300 g/ha is used as an example. According to the presenters, the drone can deliver the same 300 g of product per hectare using approximately 15 litres of spray mixture, including about 14.7 litres of water. The required spray volume may vary depending on the task.
A lower water volume means a higher product concentration in the spray mixture. The participants therefore identify one of the main unresolved issues as the development of drone-specific application protocols: rates, concentrations and lists of plant protection products suitable for this delivery method. As noted in the video, existing instructions were largely developed for conventional ground sprayers using much higher water volumes.
The participants say they intend to conduct trials with the relevant ministry and prepare recommendations covering products, application rates and concentrations for drone spraying.
Job Appeal and Safety, Lower Diesel and Labour Costs, and Decarbonisation
The working conditions and occupational safety of a tractor driver applying toxic products in an orchard or field are clearly very different from those of a drone operator. This is a significant advantage when promoting the adoption of drones in the fruit and vegetable sector and in agribusiness more broadly.
Another advantage is the sharp reduction in fuel and lubricant use. In addition to lowering operating inputs, this can reduce harmful emissions and the carbon footprint of crop production.
Drones can also substantially reduce labour costs per hectare and per tonne of produce grown.
Why Drones Are Particularly Relevant to Vegetable Growers
According to the participants, drone spraying can provide vegetable producers with a major advantage in the timeliness of crop-protection treatments. Vegetable crops generally require more frequent protection than broad-acre crops, and the greatest risks often arise after heavy rainfall. Yet this is precisely when a ground sprayer may be unable to enter waterlogged soil, causing the grower to lose valuable time for an effective treatment.
A drone does not need to travel across the field and can begin work where wheeled machinery is temporarily unable to operate. The ability to spray at night also widens the available application window. Timely product application can reduce the risk of yield and quality losses and, in some situations, may save a crop that would otherwise be lost.
A treatment made at the right time may also avoid the need for a repeat application, which means that drone use could substantially reduce the total amount of plant protection products applied.
According to one presenter, Moldova’s largest tobacco producer has purchased its own drone and uses it regularly for spraying. The participants also state that millions of hectares of maize and other cereal and oilseed crops in Ukraine have been treated with agricultural drones for more than five years.
Diagnostics First, Variable-Rate Application Second
The heavy agricultural drone in the video is described primarily as a workhorse. For crop scouting, the participants use a separate, smaller drone equipped with a multispectral camera. The images are transferred to a computer, maps are generated, and points or zones are defined for subsequent treatment.
Multispectral imaging can reveal spatial variability in crop condition before symptoms become clearly visible to the human eye. A map may show stress zones potentially associated with drip-irrigation problems, nutrient deficiencies or disease foci. Once the map has been interpreted, the spraying drone can apply more spray mixture where it is needed and less in healthy areas instead of treating the entire field uniformly.
Work Rate and Operating Package
The seller and manufacturer claim a work rate of up to 30 ha/h. The video clarifies that this figure is achievable under ideal conditions: a level field, no wind, a flight speed of about 35 km/h, a 9 m swath width and a spray volume of 22 L/ha.
According to the participants’ experience, actual performance depends on field shape and length, wind conditions and the selected spray volume. Flight time on one battery is estimated at approximately 12–14 minutes. Continuous operation requires a package comprising three batteries, a charging station, a generator and a battery-cooling system: one battery is in use, another is charging, and the third remains in rotation.
The complete package is priced in the video at €25,800. It includes the drone, three batteries, a charging unit, a generator and a battery cooler.
The Technology Requires Agronomic Application Protocols
The principal practical advantage demonstrated in the video is the ability to begin treatment quickly without driving heavy machinery into the field, while combining spraying with digital mapping and variable-rate application. In orchards, LiDAR and the potential to adjust the application volume to canopy size create additional interest.
At the same time, the participants themselves identify a key limitation: the lack of validated application rates for concentrated spray mixtures and specific products. The technical ability to spray is therefore not the same as a complete crop-protection programme. Safe operation requires tested protocols that account for the crop, product, crop growth stage, spray volume and atomisation parameters.
The presentation was organised under the FAO–EBRD initiative on climate and environmental sustainability in the agrifood sector, as part of the subcomponent “Greening the Fruit and Vegetable Value Chain in Uzbekistan”, with support from Moldova’s Federation of Agricultural Producers (FARM).
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