Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Department of Plant Protection, Rice Research Institute of Iran, Agriculture Research, Education, and Extension Organization (AREEO), Rasht, Iran
2
Department of Plant Protection, Rice Research Institute of Iran, Agriculture Research, Education, and Extension Organization (AREEO), Rasht, Iran.
3
Department of Organization and Improvement of Machinery Utilization Systems, Center for Industry Development and Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, Tehran, Iran.
10.22059/ijpps.2025.400526.1007090
Abstract
Considering the increasing use of spraying drones in agriculture, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of irrigation method and spray carrier volume on the efficacy of drones in weed control in transplanted rice cultivation, using a premixed herbicide containing cyhalofop-butyl + penoxsulam (150 g a.i. ha⁻¹, OD 6%). The experiment was conducted as a split-plot arrangement of treatments, with the main factor being two irrigation methods (continuous flooding and intermittent irrigation) and the sub-factor consisting of five carrier volumes (10, 20, 40, 80, and 160 L ha⁻¹). Control treatments included a conventional backpack sprayer (350 L ha⁻¹), an untreated control, and manual weeding. Logestic regression models indicated that the spray carrier volume required for a 90% reduction in weed biomass under continuous flooding was 14.13 and 15.6 L ha⁻¹ for Echinochloa crus-galli and Bolboschoenus planiculmis, respectively, while under intermittent irrigation, the values were 24.06 and 58.02 L ha⁻¹, respectively. The highest economic yield was obtained under continuous flooding (4331 kg ha⁻¹) at a carrier volume of 20 L ha⁻¹ and under intermittent irrigation (3874 kg ha⁻¹) at 80 L ha⁻¹, with no statistically significant difference compared to higher carrier volumes, backpack spraying, or manual weeding. Given the more than 90% weed damage observed in the untreated control and the satisfactory efficacy of drone spraying, aerial application is recommended due to labor shortages and higher operational speed.
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