Drones were used to carry out an aerial survey and spraying over the Nellikonam ‘padasekharam’ in Parassala block in the district on Saturday.
The ‘Frontline demonstration on drone-based foliar application of plant nutrient in paddy’ was organised by the ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra (ICAR-KVK), Mitraniketan, in collaboration with the Krishi Bhavan, Kulathoor.
The demonstration was led by Binu John Sam, senior scientist and head, ICAR-KVK, Mitraniketan. Aerial spraying and mapping would save time, labour expenses, and fertiliser, Chitra G., agricultural engineer (subject matter specialist), ICAR-KVK, Mitraniketan, said.
Manual scouting of fields was a time-consuming, labour-intensive process for observing and identifying plant-related problems such as nutrient deficiency, diseases, and pest attacks. Using drones, however, cuts down labour requirements significantly. With an unmanned aerial vehicle, it takes a mere 30 minutes to cover one hectare. Drone-based mapping would also enable faster crop health analysis with the aid of high-resolution photographs, ICAR-KVK officials said.
Kulathur grama panchayat president Sadharjunan G., Chandralekha C.S., assistant director of agriculture (in-charge), Parassala block; and Kulathoor Krishi Bhavan and the Nellikonam ‘Padasekharam’ officials were also present.
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