general knowledge refresher

general knowledge refresher 

general knowledge refresher  Published this article page no  70 DRONE TECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE Recently, the Union Agriculture Minister released the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for use of Drone in Pesticide Application for Crop Protection and for spraying Soil and Crop Nutrients. Major Provisions of the SOPs It covers instructions on pre, post and during operation, emergency handling plan for effective and safe operations of drones. The SOP covers important aspects of Pesticide application and drones can be used in Agricultural, Forestry, Non-Cropped Areas, etc. These aspects include: ? Statutory provisions, Flying permissions and Other Critical parameters such as area distance restrictions, weight classification, overcrowded areas restriction, drone registration, safety insurance, piloting certification, operation plan, air flight zones, weather conditions. Potential of Drone Technology use in Agriculture “Drone” means an unmanned aircraft system, i.e., an aircraft that can operate autonomously or can be operated remotely without a pilot on board (Drone Rules, 2021). Finding use in many fields, it holds potential to modernize the routine manual agriculture activities as well by linking with artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) etc. ? This includes mining, infrastructure, surveillance, emergency response, transportation, geo-spatial mapping, defence, and law enforcement etc. Why use drones for spraying pesticides? Being toxic in nature (Biocides), the Conventional pesticide use methods carry issues like: o High Labor Cost, Lower spray uniformity and excessive application. o Health and environment risks on Oral, respiratory or dermal (by skin) contact; pollution of soil and water current gk buy.

 

general knowledge refresher