Drone Results in Beck’s Fungicide Showdown
Who is Beck’s?
Beck's Hybrids Practical Farm Research (PFR) is a long-standing program dedicated to providing farmers with unbiased, practical agronomic research. This research helps farmers make informed decisions about their crops and farming practices. The program focuses on testing new products and techniques, and the results are shared publicly, regardless of outcome. By doing so, PFR aims to provide farmers with the most reliable information to improve their operations.
The Application Research
This video discusses the effectiveness of different fungicide application methods, including ground, aerial, and drone applications. While traditional methods have been used for years, the video highlights their data findings (including yield results) and potential benefits of drone technology in achieving more precise and efficient fungicide coverage.
The Drone Result
While these results suggest drone applications offer a slight advantage over traditional methods, particularly in terms of coverage and efficacy, it’s important to note more research is needed to confirm these findings. This video also emphasizes the importance of proper timing for fungicide applications and highlights the PFR-proven timing recommendations for corn and soybeans.
Venture Ag Drone's Take
When seeking reliable data on emerging agricultural technologies like drone application, we turn to trusted sources like Beck’s. We agree with their commitment to unbiased data and transparent results, regardless of the outcome. In this video, the numerical data is compelling, but equally intriguing is their hypothesis about how drones might be achieving this increased efficacy.
Carrier Rate and Concentration: A key factor is the carrier rate. Beck’s water sensitivity cards reveal that drone applications use fewer droplets, but with a higher fungicide concentration. This increased concentration may contribute to the observed enhanced efficacy compared to ground rigs. Additionally, greater water volume can impact the pH of applications, potentially influencing the fungicide's effectiveness.
Drone Downdraft and Consistency: The powerful downdraft generated by drone propellers, often called drone vortex, effectively penetrates the crop canopy, ensuring thorough coverage. Drones can also maintain a consistent application height above the canopy, further contributing to precise and efficient application over aerial application by airplane.
Is your Farm ready?
Venture Ag Drones is bringing custom aerial application to Central Wisconsin so your farm can see and measure the drone advantage for yourself. We’re here to become your trusted partner in this new age of agriculture technology. Connect with us today using our contact page.