Farmers, especially red gram growers, face difficulties due to insect attacks at different stages of crop growth and are now using drones to spray pesticides, instead of manpower, to prevent such attacks.
This year, after sufficient rainfall, red gram plants have grown tall, about six-eight ft in height. Therefore, manual labour can’t easily reach such height with guns to spray chemicals covering every part of buds and leaves where normally insects lay their eggs.
The target for sowing red gram in the district is 84,500 hectares. But the area of sowing has touched 1,00,652 hectares for 119.11% coverage because of favourable atmosphere and proper rainfall.
“At present, the red gram crop is in its primordial initiation and flowering stage, and this is a crucial period for the crop as Heliothis arsizoser (a worm) is expected to attack the buds of the crop,” Joint Director of Agriculture Department Ratendra Nath Sugur has said.
“The time is ripe for the worm to attack the buds and flowers. And, if this happens, it will directly impact the yield,” he added.
“Therefore, we have advised farmers to spray Profenofas, mixing 2 ml of it in one litre of water, as this chemical will destroy the larvae of the worm effectively,“ he said.
Drone spraying
As it were, farmers are now dependent on drones to spray chemicals on red gram crop. Private companies provide drones along with an operator to spray chemicals. A single drone will cover one acre of cultivated area in an hour.
“We are paying around ₹400 per hour as rent for one drone. After mixing the chemical with water, I fill the mixture in the tank attached to the drone. The operator then will guide the drone into every part of the field and spray the chemical on the crop, covering leaves, flowers and buds to destroy the eggs or worms,” a farmer said.
Use of manpower for spraying chemical is not profitable as wages for a person per day is more than what is paid for a drone. Moreover, the chemical will not evenly cover major parts of the plant now because of height.
“Employing labour for spraying chemical will be more harmful to the person as there is a possibility of the chemical entering his body while spraying it at the higher levels of the plant. Hence, we use drones for spraying as a profitable and safe way,” the farmer added.
Published - October 27, 2024 07:33 pm IST
