Drone rice weeding as effective as backpack sprayers, study shows

MANILA, Philippines — Drones can now help farmers control weeds in wet-seeded rice just as well as the usual backpack sprayers, potentially reducing labor costs and improving overall farm productivity, according to the Philippine Rice Research Institute.

PhilRice conducted the study in partnership with Central Luzon State University and the Department of Agriculture Research Outreach Station for Lowland Development.

The experiment tested drones spraying herbicides at 20 and 40 liters per hectare, conventional backpack sprayers, unweeded plots and manually weeded plots.

Results showed the 20-liter-per-hectare drone treatment achieved 80 to 100 percent weed control without causing chemical damage to the rice plants and matched backpack sprayers in producing the highest grain yield.

PhilRice researchers said drones could modernize weed management in large fields and areas with difficult terrain where manual spraying is slow and labor-intensive.

“This gives us a concrete basis for developing future standards and best practices in drone-based pest control,” PhilRice weed scientist Dindo King Donayre said.

The study is part of PhilRice’s integrated pest management program, which aims to combine drone spraying with seeding and fertilizer application to reduce production costs, improve safety and limit environmental impact.

The institute said it would continue trials at different sites and study the economic feasibility of drones to ensure practical adoption by farmers.