Original 2016-10-27 Roushan DJI Agriculture

Modernization of tea cultivation in China

Zhejiang Province, where the largest amount of tea is produced every year, is famous of tea. Lu Yu, the author of the first known monograph of tea—The Classic of Tea, was living in the north of Zhejiang. Anji County, where the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was shot, is also located in northern Zhejiang, and abounds with white tea. White tea, with its plain yellow color and light flavor, is the second most famous tea in Zhejiang, following Longjing tea produced in Hangzhou.

With the effort of several generations of tea farmers, the steep mountains in Anji have been turned into tea plantations, covered with tea plants in alignment with the contour lines. Though tea plants are still green in early autumn, pests have already become a problem. Without timely spray of pesticide, pests will survive the winter and reproduce rapidly in spring, which will do great damage to white tea’s yield and quality. That will be too late for spraying, because there will be too much pesticide residue when harvesting.

   

In early October, Zhu was told by another tea farmer from Lin County that, drone technologies have helped prevent pests infestation including tea green leafhoppers (Empoasca vitis) and tea geometrid (Ectropis obliqua hypulina Wehrli). “In the past, spraying was performed by a team of 3-7 farmers, and water was mainly rainfall collected from the slopes. In this way, a team could only spray 3.3-5 acres per day. Farmers might also slip on steep slopes, causing safety issues. “In consideration of the poor efficiency of manual spraying and harsh working conditions, Zhu invited Kongxing UAV Aerial Protection Team (hereinafter Kongxing) to carry out the last spray for his plantation.

Zhu’s 50-acre tea plantation

Steep slopes require manual control on drones

The foldable design of DJI Agras MG-1 made it easier to transport between mountains, and its stability of performance gave Kongxing the confidence to fly in complicated terrain. The MG-1 generates strong downward winds, ensuring the effect of spraying. More importantly, its atomized spraying technology reduced water consumption, greatly improving working efficiency, especially important in a place where water is scarce.

  

Due to the complexity of the terrain, pilots need to set the drones to Manual Mode, and fly horizontally along with the lines of tea plants, or fly upwards when the slope is less steep.But, when Kongxing went to Zhu’s plantation and actually saw how complicated the terrain was, even a pilot as much experienced as his team was under pressure.

A Kongxing Pilot is spraying the plantation

What’s learnt by Kongxing

Usually the foot and top of a slope are flatter, while the area in between is steeper. So, always remember to inspect the terrain before a flight, and choose a safe landing point. If a landing point is not available, pilots should build a temporary landing pad otherwise a drone may fail to find a landing point after take-off, and be forced to land back on the take-off point.

  

Setup and inspection before flight are also necessary to ensure the safety of spraying. As the terrain of the tea plantation in Anji is very complicated, drones may experience microclimates. Therefore, pilots must reset and confirm all parameters, including max flight altitude, flight speed and spray width, especially when the drones were flying above other terrains, such as large flat fields. If this is not carried out, spraying will be forced to stop due to incorrect settings.

  

It’s also necessary to plan flight routes carefully as otherwise operations may be forced to stop due to blocked sight, difference in gradient or unexpected obstacles. Generally speaking, the best strategy is to fly along the contour lines, but pilots can be flexible according to the actual situation. Be cautious that when slopes are steep, propellers closest to the slope may hit the tea plants during spraying, resulting in damage to propellers.

  

Standing below a drone may cause accidents because a pilot’s sight is more easily blocked. However, if a pilot stands higher than the drone’s altitude, it may be difficult to estimate its descent speed. This is why a feasible plan prior to flight matters.

  

Below is the detailed information of operating conditions, crop status and dosage of pesticides for reference.

Operation time: October 12th-15th, 2016

Location: Anji County, Zhejiang Province, China

Weather: wind ≤ Beaufort 3, cloudy

Temperature: 20~26℃

Terrain: Tea plantation, with a slope of 60°

Crop type: For food, white tea

Crop life cycle: Perennial

Operation area: 50 acres

Disease description: Rust spots appearing on tea leaves due to acarid infestation, eliminating the value of harvesting

Operation target: Acarid

Pesticide: Imidacloprid, spirodiclofen

Dosage form: Water dispersible granules, suspending agent

Active ingredient concentration：Imidacloprid 70%, spirodiclofen 240g/L

Dosage: 18.18g/acre for imidacloprid, 60.61ml/acre for spirodiclofen

  

Flight altitude: 1m or lower above crops

Spray width: 4m

Flight speed: ≤4m/s

Spray speed: 3L/min

Operation: Manual operation, horizontal flight along contour lines or vertical flight along the slope.

Traditional manual spraying can only cover approximately 1.65 acres per day, while costing 151.5 yuan per acre or higher.

An agricultural drone can spray more than 13.2 acres a day, and costs 91-182 yuan per acre, depending on the area and complexity of the area to be sprayed.

Original 2016-10-27 Roushan DJI Agriculture

Modernization of tea cultivation in China

Zhejiang Province, where the largest amount of tea is produced every year, is famous of tea. Lu Yu, the author of the first known monograph of tea—The Classic of Tea, was living in the north of Zhejiang. Anji County, where the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was shot, is also located in northern Zhejiang, and abounds with white tea. White tea, with its plain yellow color and light flavor, is the second most famous tea in Zhejiang, following Longjing tea produced in Hangzhou.

With the effort of several generations of tea farmers, the steep mountains in Anji have been turned into tea plantations, covered with tea plants in alignment with the contour lines. Though tea plants are still green in early autumn, pests have already become a problem. Without timely spray of pesticide, pests will survive the winter and reproduce rapidly in spring, which will do great damage to white tea’s yield and quality. That will be too late for spraying, because there will be too much pesticide residue when harvesting.

   

In early October, Zhu was told by another tea farmer from Lin County that, drone technologies have helped prevent pests infestation including tea green leafhoppers (Empoasca vitis) and tea geometrid (Ectropis obliqua hypulina Wehrli). “In the past, spraying was performed by a team of 3-7 farmers, and water was mainly rainfall collected from the slopes. In this way, a team could only spray 3.3-5 acres per day. Farmers might also slip on steep slopes, causing safety issues. “In consideration of the poor efficiency of manual spraying and harsh working conditions, Zhu invited Kongxing UAV Aerial Protection Team (hereinafter Kongxing) to carry out the last spray for his plantation.

Zhu’s 50-acre tea plantation

Steep slopes require manual control on drones

The foldable design of DJI Agras MG-1 made it easier to transport between mountains, and its stability of performance gave Kongxing the confidence to fly in complicated terrain. The MG-1 generates strong downward winds, ensuring the effect of spraying. More importantly, its atomized spraying technology reduced water consumption, greatly improving working efficiency, especially important in a place where water is scarce.

  

Due to the complexity of the terrain, pilots need to set the drones to Manual Mode, and fly horizontally along with the lines of tea plants, or fly upwards when the slope is less steep.But, when Kongxing went to Zhu’s plantation and actually saw how complicated the terrain was, even a pilot as much experienced as his team was under pressure.

A Kongxing Pilot is spraying the plantation

What’s learnt by Kongxing

Usually the foot and top of a slope are flatter, while the area in between is steeper. So, always remember to inspect the terrain before a flight, and choose a safe landing point. If a landing point is not available, pilots should build a temporary landing pad otherwise a drone may fail to find a landing point after take-off, and be forced to land back on the take-off point.

  

Setup and inspection before flight are also necessary to ensure the safety of spraying. As the terrain of the tea plantation in Anji is very complicated, drones may experience microclimates. Therefore, pilots must reset and confirm all parameters, including max flight altitude, flight speed and spray width, especially when the drones were flying above other terrains, such as large flat fields. If this is not carried out, spraying will be forced to stop due to incorrect settings.

  

It’s also necessary to plan flight routes carefully as otherwise operations may be forced to stop due to blocked sight, difference in gradient or unexpected obstacles. Generally speaking, the best strategy is to fly along the contour lines, but pilots can be flexible according to the actual situation. Be cautious that when slopes are steep, propellers closest to the slope may hit the tea plants during spraying, resulting in damage to propellers.

  

Standing below a drone may cause accidents because a pilot’s sight is more easily blocked. However, if a pilot stands higher than the drone’s altitude, it may be difficult to estimate its descent speed. This is why a feasible plan prior to flight matters.

  

Below is the detailed information of operating conditions, crop status and dosage of pesticides for reference.

Operation time: October 12th-15th, 2016

Location: Anji County, Zhejiang Province, China

Weather: wind ≤ Beaufort 3, cloudy

Temperature: 20~26℃

Terrain: Tea plantation, with a slope of 60°

Crop type: For food, white tea

Crop life cycle: Perennial

Operation area: 50 acres

Disease description: Rust spots appearing on tea leaves due to acarid infestation, eliminating the value of harvesting

Operation target: Acarid

Pesticide: Imidacloprid, spirodiclofen

Dosage form: Water dispersible granules, suspending agent

Active ingredient concentration：Imidacloprid 70%, spirodiclofen 240g/L

Dosage: 18.18g/acre for imidacloprid, 60.61ml/acre for spirodiclofen

  

Flight altitude: 1m or lower above crops

Spray width: 4m

Flight speed: ≤4m/s

Spray speed: 3L/min

Operation: Manual operation, horizontal flight along contour lines or vertical flight along the slope.

Traditional manual spraying can only cover approximately 1.65 acres per day, while costing 151.5 yuan per acre or higher.

An agricultural drone can spray more than 13.2 acres a day, and costs 91-182 yuan per acre, depending on the area and complexity of the area to be sprayed.