×

UPSC Courses

DNA banner

DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

GS-III :
  • 24 June, 2020

  • 10 Min Read

ULV sprayer through drones

ULV sprayer through drones

To overcome the limitation of importing equipment, the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW), under the Make in India initiative, has taken up the challenge to indigenously develop a vehicle-mounted ULV sprayer for locust control.

What is ULV(Ultra-Low volume) sprayer?

Ultra-low volume application of pesticides has been defined as spraying at a Volume Application Rate (VAR) of less than 5 L/ha for field crops or less than 50 L/ha for tree/bush crops. VARs of 0.25 – 2 l/ha are typical for aerial ULV application to forest or migratory pests.

ULV spraying is a well-established spraying technique and remains the standard method of locust control with pesticides and is also widely used by cotton farmers in central-southern and western Africa. It has also been used in massive aerial spraying campaigns against disease vectors such as the tsetse fly.

A major benefit of ULV application is high work rate (i.e. many hectares can be treated in one day). It is a good option if all (or some) of these conditions apply:

  • large area of land to treat
  • rapid response required
  • little or no water for making pesticide tank mixtures
  • logistical problems for supplies
  • difficult terrain: poor access to target site

Importance of drones to control locusts

  • At present, the sole supplier of vehicle-mounted sprayers is M/s Micron Sprayers, UK. A supply order for 60 nos. of sprayers was placed on the firm in February 2020.
  • However, the ground control vehicles with sprayers used for locust control can spray up to a height of 25-30 ft only.
  • The tractor-mounted sprayers also have a limitation in reaching inaccessible areas and tall trees.
  • Therefore, the necessity of exploring the aerial spray option was explored.
  • During a review, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar directed that deployment of Drones should be explored for Locust control.
  • As the existing policy guidelines issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) did not permit the use of drones with a payload of pesticides, so DAC&FW requested MoCA for permitting the same and the Ministry of Civil Aviation approved a conditional exemption to Government entity i.e. Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage, Faridabad (DPPQ&S) for Drone operations for locust control on 21.05.2020.
  • Subsequent to the conditional exemption given by MoCA, two firms were empanelled for providing services of drones for a spray of pesticides for Locust control.
  • The food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has appreciated that India is the first country in the world which is controlling Desert Locust through Drones.

Source: PIB


Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana

Recently, Prime Minister announced Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana under which 1 crore households will get rooftop solar power systems. India’s Status of Current Solar Capacity India currently stands at 4th place globally in solar power capacity. As per Ministry of New an

Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)- NGO 

The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 (FCRA) registration of two prominent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) — Centre for Policy Research (CPR) and World Vision India (WVI) have been cancelled this month. What is FCRA? Key provisions of FCRA, 2010 Key aspects Description

Voice clone-AI

Voice clone fraud has been on the rise in India. AI voice cloning – It is the process of creating a synthetic replica of a person’s voice through machine learning and speech synthesis technology.It is called as voice deepfakesor audio deepfakes. Objective – To achieve a high level of na

Science communication- how to promote

Steps taken by India to promote Science Communication Publications and Information Directorate (PID) - An organisation under Council of Science and Industrial Research (CSIR) established in 1951 for publishing and disseminating scientific information in India. National science magazines- The PI

Universal Basic Income (UBI)- Analysis

Universal Basic Income (UBI) can strengthen welfare architecture and unlock the nation’s latent demographic potential. UBI - It is an income support mechanism typically intended to reach all or a very large portion of the population regardless of their earnings or employment status. Objective- To provide enough to co

Toppers

Search By Date

Newsletter Subscription
SMS Alerts

Important Links

UPSC GS Mains Crash Course - RAW Prelims Answer Key 2024