Anti-Drift Technology Progress of Plant Protection Applied to Orchards: A Review

Abstract

In orchard plant protection application, an anti-drift strategy can effectively reduce drift in the non-target area, reduce spray drift in the environment, and avoid spray leakage and overspraying. To clarify the future development direction of orchard plant protection mechanization technology, this review introduces the development status of an anti-drift spray nozzle and the impact of different types of spray nozzles on the potential of drift, and then, it analyzes the research progress on air-assisted spraying, recycling spraying, profiling spraying, target variable spraying technologies, and plant protection UAVs. It also provides a general analysis of the above spraying technologies on the amount of drift and the impact of pesticide deposition. Finally, combined with the characteristics of orchard plant protection, the paper presents the research and development of anti-drift nozzles, pesticide adjuvant, air-assisted spraying technology, electrostatic, recycling spraying technology, profiling and target variable spraying technology, and plant protection UAVs. The review provides a reference for the development of an anti-drift strategy for orchard plant protection production.