Droplet Deposition of Leaf Fertilizers Applied by an
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in Coffea Canephora Plants
Déborah Hoffmam Crause,
Edney Leandro da Vitória,
Luis Felipe Oliveira Ribeiro,
Francisco de Assis Ferreira,
Yubin Lan,
Pengchao Chen
Affiliations
Déborah Hoffmam Crause
Postgraduate Program in Tropical Agriculture (PPGAT), Federal University of Espirito Santo (UFES), São Mateus 29932-510, ES, Brazil
Edney Leandro da Vitória
Postgraduate Program in Tropical Agriculture (PPGAT), Federal University of Espirito Santo (UFES), São Mateus 29932-510, ES, Brazil
Luis Felipe Oliveira Ribeiro
Department of Agricultural and Biological Sciences (DCAB), Federal University of Espirito Santo (UFES), São Mateus 29932-510, ES, Brazil
Francisco de Assis Ferreira
Department of Agricultural and Biological Sciences (DCAB), Federal University of Espirito Santo (UFES), São Mateus 29932-510, ES, Brazil
Yubin Lan
National Center for International Collaboration Research on Precision Agricultural Aviation Pesticides Spraying Technology, College of Electronic Engineering and Artificial Intelligence, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Pengchao Chen
National Center for International Collaboration Research on Precision Agricultural Aviation Pesticides Spraying Technology, College of Electronic Engineering and Artificial Intelligence, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
The yield of coffee plants depends on several factors, and the leaf nutrition is one of the most important. The form of application of leaf fertilizers used is expensive considering the application efficacy and the efficacy of adherence and absorption of nutrients. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of configurations of operational parameters of centrifugal nozzle rotation and operational height on the application efficacy and efficacy of absorption of leaf fertilizers in Conilon coffee plants. The coverage, density, and deposition of spray droplets were efficacy parameters evaluated through water-sensitive paper tags and artificial targets. The efficacy of the macronutrients applied was confirmed through leaf analyses at 15 and 30 days after application. The application efficacy with a height of flight of 2.0 m and rotation of 10,000 rpm was the most adequate, with coverage of 12.4% and density of droplets of 127 droplets cm−2. The application of foliar fertilizers by UAV provided a distribution in newer leaves in which the absorption of macronutrients was greater, and the flight height of 2.0 m and rotation of the centrifugal nozzle of 10,000 rpm resulted in the best efficacy parameters.
