Last week NAAA sent a letter to CropLife Media Group urging the organization to give readers a more well-rounded perspective on the capabilities of manned aerial applicators when reporting on UAVs used for aerial spraying.

The letter was in response to a July 11 article titled “Rantizo Approved for Agricultural Drone Spraying in Iowa” written by CropLife magazine staff.  NAAA believed that the article was missing some vital information about manned aerial application operations. The article did not explain the UAV used by Rantizo, the DJI Agras, can spray only 7-10 acres an hour. NAAA wrote readers should be aware that during a 10-hour day of applications, this equates to only 70 to 100 acres treated per UAV, while a single manned aircraft can spray upwards of 2,000 acres a day. “This is one of the benefits of manned aerial application that is unmatched by current UAV technology,” the letter stated. “In future articles we feel it is vital to include this information, so readers have an accurate basis for comparing the two application methods.”

The letter went on to explain all the technologies used by UAVs, such as GPS, flow control systems, and onboard weather monitoring, have all been used by manned aerial applicators for years.

Furthermore, the letter explained there is a concern that existing pesticide labels don’t necessarily allow for UAVs to make aerial applications. This is because the AgDRIFT™ model used by the EPA to register pesticide products for aerial use predicts spray drift for only single propeller fixed-wing and single rotor aircraft applications. This spray drift model does not apply to UAVs with two, four, six or in the case of the DJI Agras, eight rotors. The model also doesn’t apply to the lighter weight characteristics of a small UAV that doesn’t have the higher air pressure wake to push the applied material deep into a crop’s canopy. Without similar models for the various types and sizes of UAVs a proper spray drift risk assessment cannot be performed.

The letter concluded by stating, “NAAA agrees that aerial application is indeed the superior way to treat crops for a variety of reasons. We do feel, however, that growers need to be aware of the capabilities of manned agricultural aircraft in addition to learning about emerging UAV technologies, and their fallbacks. Only the manned aerial application industry has and will continue to treat 127 million acres of cropland in the U.S. this growing season.” A letter similar to NAAA’s was sent to CropLife Media Group by Bill Lavender of AgAir Update.