Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40519595›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in plant science2025

Effect of operational parameters on spray performance and drift characteristics of a UAV-based agrochemical application in pigeon pea crop to control thrips.

Gatkal N R, Nalawade S M, Shelke M S, Deshmukh M S, Bhanage G B, More N M, Ramesh K Sahni, Marcel Mikeska

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in plant science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Gatkal N RDepartment of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, Dr. Annasaheb Shinde College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Ahmednagar, India.
Nalawade S MDepartment of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, Dr. Annasaheb Shinde College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Ahmednagar, India.
Shelke M SDepartment of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krushi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, India.
Deshmukh M SDepartment of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krushi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, India.
Bhanage G BCentre for Advanced Agricultural Science and Technology for Climate Smart Agriculture and Water Management (CAAST-CSAWM), Dr. Annasaheb Shinde College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Ahmednagar, India.
More N MDepartment of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, Dr. Annasaheb Shinde College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Ahmednagar, India.
Ramesh K SahniICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal, India.
Marcel MikeskaVSB-Technical University of Ostrava, CEET, ENET Centre, Ostrava-Poruba, Czechia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In the past few years, UAV application in agriculture has increased significantly due to higher efficiency and safety, simple operation, reduced labor requirements, and saving chemicals as compared to conventional sprayers. The UAVs are widely used in agriculture, providing flexibility and more profit to farmers. In recent years, research has been conducted on various operational parameters of UAV, and there has been no experiment or study on the effect of operational parameters and drift characteristics of UAV and control of thrips in pigeon pea crop. Therefore, this study evaluated the effect of the operational parameters of a UAV-based spraying system on the performance of agrochemical application in pigeon pea crop to control thrips. A field study was conducted to determine the performance parameters in terms of droplet deposition density, droplet size, coverage, spray deposition, and relative span at different flight heights (1.5, 2, and 2.5 m above the crop canopy) and flight speeds (2, 2.5, and 3 m/s). Water-sensitive papers (WSPs) were placed at three canopy zones (bottom, middle, and top zones) of the pigeon pea plant. The maximum droplet density, droplet size, coverage, spray deposition, and relative span factor at the top, middle, and bottom canopy zones were 54.00, 50.17, and 46.33 droplets/cm²; 244.80, 239.88, and 235.37 µm; 10.53%, 10.09%, and 9.78%; 0.764, 0.714, and 0.672 µl/cm²; and 0.98, 0.96, and 0.93, respectively, at a flight height of 1.5 m and a flying speed of 2 m/s. Spray deposition was negligible in off-target zones. The field capacity, field efficiency, and application rate of the UAV were found to be 2.62 ha/h, 60.64%, and 77.86 L/ha, respectively. The maximum control efficacy of thrips on the top, middle, and bottom pigeon pea canopy was 92.45%, 90.12%, and 88.11% after 10 days of spraying experiment. This study provides recommendations for optimal operating parameters (height: 1.5 m and speed: 2 m/s) for efficient agrochemical application, benefiting manufacturers, farmers, and UAV operators for more effective and efficient spraying on pigeon pea crops.

Indexed as

coveragedriftdroplet densitydroplet sizeflight heightflight speedpigeon peaUAV spraying

Identifiers

PMID40519595
PMCPMC12162583

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.