The Influence Of Spray Volume And Flight Speed Of The Antasena Drone Sprayer In Controlling Rice Stem Borer Pests

Abstract

The development of agricultural technology is oriented towards increasing production, productivity, and farming efficiency. One of the technologies that has developed and attracted attention in recent years is the use of drone sprayers for fertilization and pest control applications. This study aims to test the effectiveness of drone sprayers at two different spray volumes in controlling pests. The research was conducted from May to June in Babat Subdistrict, Lamongan Regency, East Java, using direct observation methods to observe white rice stem borer attacks on rice plants. The two spray volumes tested were 40 l/ha and 60 l/ha with drone flying speeds of 5.1 m/s and 4.5 m/s, respectively. The parameters observed included flying speed, spray volume, solution concentration, and the level of white rice stem borer attacks. The research results showed that the drone sprayer using a flying speed of 4.5 m/s and a spray volume of 60 l/ha provided better effectiveness compared to a flying speed of 5.1 m/s with a spray volume of 45 l/ha. This better result is suspected to be due to more even spraying at a slower speed compared to a higher speed. The spray results of both spray volumes provided better outcomes than the control field, which tended to increase the number of affected tillers and decrease the number of unaffected tillers.