A Review of Drone Technology and Operation Processes in Agricultural Crop Spraying
Argelia García-Munguía,
Paloma Lucía Guerra-Ávila,
Efraín Islas-Ojeda,
Jorge Luis Flores-Sánchez,
Otilio Vázquez-Martínez,
Alberto Margarito García-Munguía,
Otilio García-Munguía
Affiliations
Argelia García-Munguía
Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas, Centro de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Avenida Universidad # 940, Col. Ciudad Universitaria, Aguascalientes 20131, Mexico
Paloma Lucía Guerra-Ávila
Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas, Centro de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Avenida Universidad # 940, Col. Ciudad Universitaria, Aguascalientes 20131, Mexico
Efraín Islas-Ojeda
Departamento de Ciencias Veterinarias, Centro de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Avenida Universidad # 940, Col. Ciudad Universitaria, Aguascalientes 20131, Mexico
Jorge Luis Flores-Sánchez
Insituto Tecnológico El Llano de Aguascalientes, México 70, Aguascalientes 20330, Mexico
Otilio Vázquez-Martínez
Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas, Centro de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Avenida Universidad # 940, Col. Ciudad Universitaria, Aguascalientes 20131, Mexico
Alberto Margarito García-Munguía
Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas, Centro de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Avenida Universidad # 940, Col. Ciudad Universitaria, Aguascalientes 20131, Mexico
Otilio García-Munguía
Departamento de Agronegocios, Centro de Ciencias Empresariales, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Avenida Universidad # 940, Col. Ciudad Universitaria, Aguascalientes 20131, Mexico
Precision agriculture is revolutionizing the management and production of agricultural crops. The development of new technologies in agriculture, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), has proven to be an efficient option for spraying various compounds on crops. UAVs significantly contribute to enhancing precision agriculture. This review aims to determine whether integrating advanced precision technologies into drones for crop spraying enhances spraying accuracy compared to drones utilizing standard spraying technologies. To achieve this, 100 articles published between 2019 and 2024 were selected and analyzed. The information was summarized into five main areas: (1) improved spraying with agricultural drone technologies, (2) operational parameters, (3) spraying applications of chemical and natural compounds with agricultural drones, (4) evaluations of control pest efficacy, and (5) considerable limitations. Finally, considerations are presented on the advantages of drone technology with artificial intelligence (AI); the practical effects of reducing pesticides, which, in some cases, have reached a reduction of 30% compared to the recommended dose; and future directions for improving precision agriculture. The use of drones in precision agriculture presents technical and scientific challenges for the maximization of spraying efficiency and the minimization of agrochemical use.
