Drones Continued from Page 7
plication of pesticides for pest control in alfalfa fields,” the researchers concluded, with“nosignificant differences” in insecti- cide coverage, residueandsummerworm control between the drone and airplane applicationmethods. Part of the minor differences in perfor- mancecouldbeattributedtotheshortperi- odof time inwhichresearchers andothers have been fine-tuning drone technology. “Airplanes have been used for applying pesticides for 60-plus years, and the tech- nology is refined,” the researchers noted.
“Dronesarenewandthere’sabitmorework that needs tobedone to fine-tune themfor optimumpestcontrol inagricultural fields.” One potential advantage of drone ap- plication, if the details can be worked out, would be the ability to control pests eco- nomically inarelativelysmallareaofafield, without having to treat the entire field. “Drone technology provides an addi- tional tool for growers to control pests on farms, supplementing traditional ground and aerial spraying practices,” Long said. “This could be especially helpful where
there’s a shortage of farm labor for apply- ingpesticides or for small, tough-to-reach places that require spot treatments.” In addition to refining the uniformity of application, drones face regulatory re- strictions that could delay their use. Giles said the federal government maintains a 55-pound weight limit on drone carrying capacity that severely restricts applica- tions—and he said that limit is unlikely to be changed easily or quickly, because the Federal Aviation Administration doesn’t have a blanket procedure for approval. “You’re going to be in line behind a lot of large commercial enterprises,” he said. “The good news is that they will probably blaze the trail and at least leave a process in the FAA.” There are also licensing requirements for drone pilots, but Giles said California is ahead of most states. “The California ag pilot unmanned li- cense is now an established process,” he said, adding that a pilot can take the ap- prentice unmanned ag pilot exam at any time“andstart theone-year clock. Inother words, it’s smart to do it now and get the clock going.” Gilesownscommercialmannedaircraft and journeymanmanned agricultural pi- lot licenses, andsaidtheapprenticeperiod can be productive and easily arranged. “You can get your 50 rotary-wing su- pervisedhours at any time in that year,”he said. “Apilot canmake the applications as an apprentice (under supervision), so it neednot necessarilybedead time forhim. You could perhaps get hired on at one of the currently licensed UAV spray oper- ations. They are often looking for pilots. Practically, inabusy season, youcouldget those 50 hours in aweek or 10 days.” ( Bo b J o hn s o n i s a r e p o r t e r i n Sacramento. He may be contacted at bjohn11135@gmail.com.) Easement protects Madera-area ranch Calling the biodiversity of the property “just stunning,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it had completed aconservationeasementonthe3,602-acre McKinney Ranch inMadera County. Th e USDA Na t u r a l Re s ou r c e s ConservationServiceCaliforniaofficesaid the Sierra Foothill Conservancy had part- nered with it, the California Department of Conservation and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamationtoacquire thevoluntaryease- ment on the ranch. NRCS State Conservationist Carlos Suarez described the ranch as “a unique rural landscapewitharichagriculturalher- itage,”whichalsocarriesecologicalbenefits including vernal pool wetlands, miles of winding creeks and hundreds of common and imperiledplant andwildlife species. The McKinney Ranch became the most recent California property protect- ed through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program-Agricultural Land Easements. NRCS said it holds 129 ease- ments in California through the program, totaling 56,189 acres.
on the alfalfa plants between drone and airplane applications, using both5-gallon and 10-gallon spray rates per acre. Moretothepoint, theysaid,bothapplica- tionmethods looked effective in knocking downpopulationsof summerwormpests. Beet and western yellow striped army- worms and alfalfa caterpillars were sam- pledusinga sweepnet inboth treatedand untreated areas of both fields. “Dronesareaviableoption for aerial ap-
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8 Ag Alert May 19, 2021
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