The use of drones in the agricultural sector began relatively recently, yet these unmanned devices have already gained the favor of many farmers. Their application is quite broad. With agricultural drones, in addition to the now-common desiccation, it is also possible to apply: fungicides, insecticides, Trichogramma, and even herbicides.
This article will justify the potential and possibilities of using an agricultural drone on a farm with a total land bank of 1000+ hectares, based on a five-field crop rotation with the most popular agricultural crops in Ukraine: winter wheat, winter rapeseed, soybeans, and sunflowers.
APPLICATION POTENTIAL
Considering that the farm's land bank is 1000 hectares and all five crops are sown in equal parts, we can easily calculate the potential total area for pesticide application using an agricultural drone per season.
*Only half of the crop area was considered for these technological operations, assuming that some fields will not require this application.
**Additional application on some areas was taken into account in case of unforeseen necessity.
As we can see, with a land bank of 1000 hectares per season, we will carry out applications on a total area of 4900 hectares. To better understand this, we need to answer the question: Is 4900 hectares a lot or a little for one agricultural drone?
Considering that the actual application productivity of one agricultural drone when providing services is around 100–120 hectares per shift, owning your own drone that operates continuously on the same fields offers significant advantages. This allows for the creation of precise and high-quality field boundaries once and their reuse throughout the season, as well as a better understanding of the terrain, existing obstacles, and potential risks. Given these factors, achieving an average productivity of 120 hectares per shift is more than realistic.
Accordingly, to apply pesticides over a total area of 4900 hectares, one agricultural drone will require 40 shifts. Given that we have a five-field crop rotation and different applications will be carried out at different times for various crops, organizing the drone’s work efficiently and productively over a total of 40 days throughout the season is absolutely manageable.
*In reality, owning your own agricultural drone and having a total land bank of around 1000 hectares allows for some flexibility. During certain periods, you can even easily assist your neighbors with desiccation, at the very least.
APPLICATION COST
To answer the question: "What is the cost of pesticide application using an agricultural drone?" we can conduct simple calculations and see that, at the current stage of technological development, the "cost factor" is already almost on par with wheeled sprayers.
Based on the table above, we can draw the following conclusions:
With our land bank of 1000 hectares and planned pesticide applications over 4800 hectares per season, the existing equipment set will last for two seasons without additional investments (except for a few hundred dollars for periodic maintenance, at most). After two seasons, a new battery set will be required for further operation. Considering the residual value of the equipment, if the drone owner decides not to purchase a new battery set but instead sells the entire drone system and buys a completely new one, the depreciation cost for the equipment (over these two seasons and approximately 10,000 hectares) will be around 70 UAH/ha. If the drone owner chooses to purchase a new battery set and continue using the equipment for another two seasons (covering approximately 20,000 hectares in total), the depreciation cost for the equipment will be reduced to around 50 UAH/ha.
Adding to the previous calculations:
1. Vehicle and fuel costs for transportation and equipment charging – approximately 50 UAH/ha 2. Salary for the agricultural drone operator – 50 UAH/ha This results in a potential APPLICATION COST OF PESTICIDES USING AGRICULTURAL DRONES RANGING FROM 150 TO 170 UAH/HA.
Considering the actual costs of pesticide application using wheeled sprayers, if the economics are calculated correctly, the expenses will range between $3–5/ha (depending on the specific situation in each farm individually).
Accordingly, the argument that "Pesticide application with agricultural drones is significantly more expensive than with wheeled sprayers" is no longer valid. The costs are now approximately at the same level. Let's wait a few more years for further technological advancements and the release of 2–3 new drone integrations—then the cost-effectiveness of wheeled sprayers will be the one in question.
SAVINGS AND ADDITIONAL INCOME
In the case of a full pesticide application cycle using agricultural drones throughout the season (at least during the later growth stages of crops), in addition to the significantly lower water consumption (8–12 L/ha instead of 100–200 L/ha with wheeled sprayers), it is crucial to consider the potential additional income from areas that remain undamaged—unlike the losses caused by wheeled sprayers trampling crops. The area affected by trampling can reach 3–10% (depending on the sprayer’s boom width, whether it is trailed or self-propelled, and the field’s configuration). If we assume just a 5% annual loss of potential yield due to trampling, the resulting financial losses become astronomical… But that will be covered in the next article.
