Globally, for the 2023/2024 marketing year, the total corn planting area is estimated at approximately 196 million hectares. The main producers are the USA, China, Brazil, Argentina, and the European Union. In Ukraine, the corn planting area in 2023 was 4.04 million hectares, while for 2024, a 4.5% decrease was projected, bringing the area down to approximately 3.86 million hectares.
The key factors influencing corn planting areas in Ukraine include economic conditions, market prices, logistics, and agricultural policy. Despite the challenges of running an agricultural business in 2022–2024, Ukraine remains one of the world's leading corn producers and exporters and corn in Ukraine is here to stay!.
Regarding corn yields over the past five years in Ukraine and other major global producers:
USA: Yield averaged 10.9 t/ha (from 2019 to 2023)
China: Average corn yield was approximately 6.2 t/ha
Brazil: The average yield was around 5.6 t/ha over the last five years, considering both growing seasons (first and safrinha)
European Union: Average corn yield was 7.5 t/ha
Argentina: Corn yield averaged about 7.9 t/ha
Ukraine: The average corn yield in Ukraine was around 7.2 t/ha over the last five years
As we can see, Ukraine's average corn yield is quite high, but compared to yields in the USA and other countries exceeding 10 t/ha, we can conclude that Ukrainian farmers still have room for growth.
If we try to answer the question: "Why can't Ukraine achieve the same average corn yield as the USA?", we can find some interesting and ready-made explanations for our farmers:
Lower technology intensity:
Lack of modern technology: Ukraine lags behind in implementing advanced agricultural technologies, such as precision farming, automated fertilizer and pesticide application systems, and GMO varieties, which are standard practice in the USA. This limits the potential yield.
Technical equipment: Outdated machinery is less efficient in handling large areas and ensuring optimal conditions for corn growth and development.
Climate conditions and climate change:
Climate change: Extreme weather conditions, such as droughts or heavy rains, frequently occur in Ukraine and can significantly reduce corn yields.
Lack of irrigation: The absence of irrigation systems makes it harder to maintain sufficient soil moisture in drought-prone areas.
Agronomic practices:
Less effective practices: Yield potential is reduced by lack of crop rotation, insufficient fertilizer application, or absence of pesticide treatments.
Moving from global and complex technologies to more practical and accessible solutions for improving corn yields in Ukraine, one of the first steps would be timely and effective pesticide application, especially insecticide protection of corn.
If we consider only 3 to 10% potential yield loss due to pest damage, we can calculate the financial losses: when nothing is done to prevent them.
As we can see, Ukrainian farmers have a significant income potential by reducing crop damage caused by pests, ranging from 1.3 to 4.3 million UAH per 1,000 hectares.
And if anyone objects, saying "Drone pesticide application is too expensive," they should review the detailed cost breakdown of pesticide application by agro-drones in this article and finally understand: "Drone pesticide application is actually CHEAP."
Challenges: If it’s so simple and the additional income is obvious, then what’s the difficulty?
The main challenge is applying insecticide treatments on corn when it grows taller than 2 meters. The limitation is due to wheel-based machinery. Not every farm has high-clearance sprayers, and even when available, their clearance is often insufficient.
Solution: The practical solution for pest control in corn taller than 2 meters is agro-drones. In recent years, agro-drones have gained massive popularity, and the reasons are truly objective:
Ability to target specific pest-infested or diseased areas due to the mobility and quick deployment of the equipment.
Wheel-based sprayers cause 3–7% crop loss due to trampling, whereas drones preserve this yield.
Can operate immediately after heavy rains.
Up to 90% water savings.
Pesticide application can be outsourced to specialized service companies, eliminating the need to train internal staff and ensuring high-quality application.
If a farm needs its own agro-drone, the investment cost starts at $20,000–30,000, with an application capacity of 100 hectares per day.
Investment payback period – maximum 1 year.
According to AGRONIX service company data, in 2022–2023, drones were used to treat 2.3 million hectares. Among the most popular drone applications were corn insecticide treatments (about 300,000 ha), desiccation, and fungicide protection of sunflower.
According to AGRONIX CEO Mykola Chernyak, the agro-drone market started growing in 2021 with sunflower desiccation and has expanded rapidly since then based on needs and drone capabilities. As of 2024, the Ukrainian drone fleet consists of approximately 1,000 units, and it continues to grow rapidly.
Regarding effective pesticides for corn pest control, various options are available on the Ukrainian market, with FMC’s product lineup being among the most reliable.
FMC offers a wide range of products for pest management, including Rynaxypyr®-based solutions, which effectively control Lepidopteran pests while being safe for beneficial insects. This active ingredient is the first and most powerful anthranilic diamide. Globally and in Ukraine, it is best known as Coragen® insecticide.
In 2024, FMC plans to introduce the first insecticide registered for drone application on corn. The Vantacor™ insecticide (600 g/L chlorantraniliprole) is a powerful, modernized product based on Rynaxypyr®, featuring a high-concentration formulation designed for low-volume application, making it ideal for ultra-low-volume spraying.
The best effectiveness of the product is achieved when applied from the start of mass pest flights to the beginning of larval hatching. The optimal application period is during peak egg-laying.
In recent years, caterpillar infestations have been concentrated around the corn ear, making coverage of the upper and middle plant canopy critically important.
FMC field trials in Ukraine on Vantacor™ ultra-low-volume application showed high efficacy even at 8 L/ha application rates. Under these conditions, plant damage levels remained below the economic threshold (less than 10% affected plants compared to 40% at lower water volumes). Therefore, for maximum efficiency with drone-applied insecticides, it is recommended to use at least 8 L/ha of working solution. With this application rate, a single drone flight can cover 3 hectares of corn, meaning that even a DJI AGRAS T30 can treat over 150 hectares per shift.
If 150 ha/shift is not enough, it's time to consider the latest innovations in spraying drones and upgrade to the DJI AGRAS T50, which is now rapidly entering Ukraine and unlocking 200+ hectares per shift.
Recommendations for applying Vantacor™ insecticide using drones:
Use only properly functioning and correctly calibrated drones according to the manufacturers' recommendations. The drone should be operated only by a person who holds a certificate of relevant training and has permission to work with pesticides, as evidenced by the corresponding document.
Spraying should be carried out at a wind speed of no more than 3-5 m/s, a relative humidity of at least 50%, and a temperature not exceeding 25°C. When applying the product, attention should be paid to inversion (upward) air currents, which may cause "under-spraying" of the working solution droplets. The drift potential increases at wind speeds below 1.5 m/s due to changing direction and inversion potential, or above 5 m/s. However, many factors, including droplet size and application height, determine the drift potential at any wind speed.
To achieve maximum plant surface coverage, use droplets ranging from fine (106-235 µm) to medium size (236-340 µm). It should be considered that droplets smaller than 150 µm have a higher potential for wind drift, so wind is a key factor to consider when applying insecticides with drones.
If wind speeds exceeding 4 m/s are expected during spraying, use medium-sized droplets and a higher water volume.
To reduce drift (droplet displacement), it is recommended to use a product with an adjuvant that ensures precise droplet deposition on the surface. Weighted droplets reduce drift but do not prevent it if application is performed incorrectly or under unfavorable environmental conditions (high humidity, high soil temperature, etc.).
In some situations where full and effective coverage is difficult to achieve (e.g., dense stems or foliage, plants with waxy or highly hairy leaves), the use of an oil-based adjuvant may improve effectiveness. It is recommended to use the oil adjuvant Codacide™ at a concentration of 1% in the working solution.
The quality of coverage can be checked using water-sensitive paper. Coverage is considered satisfactory if the average number of droplets is at least 10-12 per 1 cm².
AGRONIX specialists have been satisfying farmers with their solutions and results in pesticide application using DJI agricultural drones for the fourth season. The effectiveness of drone-based pesticide application technology is also confirmed by a number of studies. Below is a list of articles describing the advantages of low-volume spraying technology, including the benefits of treating corn with insecticides.
Processing parameters and effectiveness:
A study on sugarcane established optimal drone application parameters that can also be applied to corn: a spraying volume of 15 L/ha, a flight altitude of 3 m, and a speed of 4 m/s. This ensures uniform and effective coverage of plants with pesticides (Zhang et al., 2020). Another study showed that using drones for insecticide application on corn provides high pest control efficiency. Specifically, the application of active ingredients such as chlorfenapyr, chlorantraniliprole, and lufenuron via drones reduced pest populations by 94.86% (Song et al., 2020).
Comparison with traditional methods:
A study conducted in Maryland, USA, compared the effectiveness of drone-based corn and soybean treatments using different types of drones. The results showed that drones provide excellent droplet density and coverage in the upper plant canopy, which is a key factor for effective pest control (Hunter et al., 2020).
Potential advantages and challenges:
The use of drones allows for a quick response to pest outbreaks, reducing the amount of pesticides used, saving time, and conserving labor resources. However, flight parameters such as altitude, speed, and nozzle type need to be optimized to ensure maximum application efficiency (Lv et al., 2019; Zhang et al., 2011).
Despite significant advantages, the use of drones in agriculture faces certain regulatory restrictions, which vary from country to country (Ayamga et al., 2021).
