Design and development of agricultural drone for precision fertilizer application to optimize crop yields

In the modern era, precision agriculture has advanced significantly, playing a crucial role in improving crop yields - especially in countries such as India, where more than 70% of the rural population depends on agriculture. Crop losses due to insect and pest-borne diseases remain a major challenge...

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Main Authors: Amartya Josephat, Aravindkumar Sekar, Deepa T, S. Angalaeswari
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Results in Engineering
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025023394
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author Amartya Josephat
Aravindkumar Sekar
Deepa T
S. Angalaeswari
author_facet Amartya Josephat
Aravindkumar Sekar
Deepa T
S. Angalaeswari
author_sort Amartya Josephat
collection DOAJ
description In the modern era, precision agriculture has advanced significantly, playing a crucial role in improving crop yields - especially in countries such as India, where more than 70% of the rural population depends on agriculture. Crop losses due to insect and pest-borne diseases remain a major challenge. Traditionally, farmers have relied on pesticides and fertilizers, but manual pesticide spraying poses serious health risks. According to the WHO, approximately one million cases of pesticide-related illnesses occur annually by manual spraying. To address this issue, a customized agri-drone with the adoption of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is proposed. UAVs significantly reduce health risks and enable precise and efficient pesticide and fertilizer applications. They are especially beneficial in areas where traditional machinery and manual labor face limitations. Equipped with advanced cameras and sensors, drones offer real-time crop monitoring and early disease detection. Beyond spraying, UAVs support crop mapping, irrigation management, and yield forecasting. Their data gathering capabilities improve decision making, resource optimization, and risk mitigation. The integration of drones into agriculture marks a transformational leap, improving pest control, increasing productivity, reducing environmental impact, and protecting farmer health. The proposed drone helps achieve the precise use of fertilizer with an accurate composition of the mixture at minimal cost.
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spelling doaj-art-b9ebb6e2fde94b8494d8d09d4c235bc22025-08-20T03:08:17ZengElsevierResults in Engineering2590-12302025-09-012710626710.1016/j.rineng.2025.106267Design and development of agricultural drone for precision fertilizer application to optimize crop yieldsAmartya Josephat0Aravindkumar Sekar1Deepa T2S. Angalaeswari3School of Electrical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaSchool of Computer Science and Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaSchool of Electrical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaSchool of Electrical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India; Corresponding author.In the modern era, precision agriculture has advanced significantly, playing a crucial role in improving crop yields - especially in countries such as India, where more than 70% of the rural population depends on agriculture. Crop losses due to insect and pest-borne diseases remain a major challenge. Traditionally, farmers have relied on pesticides and fertilizers, but manual pesticide spraying poses serious health risks. According to the WHO, approximately one million cases of pesticide-related illnesses occur annually by manual spraying. To address this issue, a customized agri-drone with the adoption of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is proposed. UAVs significantly reduce health risks and enable precise and efficient pesticide and fertilizer applications. They are especially beneficial in areas where traditional machinery and manual labor face limitations. Equipped with advanced cameras and sensors, drones offer real-time crop monitoring and early disease detection. Beyond spraying, UAVs support crop mapping, irrigation management, and yield forecasting. Their data gathering capabilities improve decision making, resource optimization, and risk mitigation. The integration of drones into agriculture marks a transformational leap, improving pest control, increasing productivity, reducing environmental impact, and protecting farmer health. The proposed drone helps achieve the precise use of fertilizer with an accurate composition of the mixture at minimal cost.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025023394Agri dronePrecision agricultureUnmanned aerial vehiclesFertilizer managementDrone-based deliveryDrone applications
spellingShingle Amartya Josephat
Aravindkumar Sekar
Deepa T
S. Angalaeswari
Design and development of agricultural drone for precision fertilizer application to optimize crop yields
Results in Engineering
Agri drone
Precision agriculture
Unmanned aerial vehicles
Fertilizer management
Drone-based delivery
Drone applications
title Design and development of agricultural drone for precision fertilizer application to optimize crop yields
title_full Design and development of agricultural drone for precision fertilizer application to optimize crop yields
title_fullStr Design and development of agricultural drone for precision fertilizer application to optimize crop yields
title_full_unstemmed Design and development of agricultural drone for precision fertilizer application to optimize crop yields
title_short Design and development of agricultural drone for precision fertilizer application to optimize crop yields
title_sort design and development of agricultural drone for precision fertilizer application to optimize crop yields
topic Agri drone
Precision agriculture
Unmanned aerial vehicles
Fertilizer management
Drone-based delivery
Drone applications
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025023394
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AT deepat designanddevelopmentofagriculturaldroneforprecisionfertilizerapplicationtooptimizecropyields
AT sangalaeswari designanddevelopmentofagriculturaldroneforprecisionfertilizerapplicationtooptimizecropyields