Flocks of migratory and residents birds fluttering around and foraging in vast swathes of paddy fields are a common sight in Kuttanad. Paddy farmers in the region use scarecrows and firecrackers among other ways to keep unwelcome birds away during the crop-growing period.
That said, another winged guest, a relatively new entrant in the rice bowl of Kerala, hovering 1.5 metres over rice plants and releasing precise doses of secondary nutrients, micronutrients, and biopesticides is lending a helping hand to the farmers.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) better known as drones are taking over fertilizer spraying in paddy fields in Kuttanad albeit gradually.
Earlier in the season, P.A. Thomas, secretary of the 85-acre Mulavanakari paddy polder at Muttar in Kuttanad, was concerned about the acute shortage of labour and high labour cost affecting the application of the third (final) round of fertilizers (micronutrients) on the rice plants. After hearing about the sprayer drones being deployed on some fields for the purpose, Mr. Thomas approached the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Alappuzha. The KVK promised to arrange drones and bear the entire cost of drone spraying.
“We were slightly worried over the success of spraying micronutrients using drones. However, all apprehension disappeared quickly when a drone completed foliar application of micronutrients on crops in one acre in less than 10 minutes. It took just two days to complete the process in the entire 85 acres. If we were to do it manually by deploying two labourers, it would have taken more than a week to cover the entire field,” says Mr. Thomas.
Now, several weeks after, farmers who cultivated paddy at Mulavanakari are confident of "getting a good yield."
At the 200-acre Vadakara Edassery Varabinakam polder at Edathua, farmers have applied micronutrients using sprayer drones on 37.5 acres. “We did it on an experimental basis. Harvest has been completed and the results are amazing. Farmers who deployed drones received five quintals more yield from an acre compared to those who applied nutrients manually,” says Cyriac Jose, secretary, Vadakara Edassery Varabinakam polder.
The cost for spraying an acre of paddy field is around ₹1,000, which includes the rent of the drone, ₹800, and the price of micronutrients. The rate, according to farmers, is the same when the process is done manually. Among the biggest advantages are it saves a lot of time and drones, which use GPS, can evenly spray the contents on all plants increasing the chances of higher yield.
Devan Chandrasekharan, managing director of Fuselage Innovations, a start-up that operates sprayer drones in Alappuzha, says the UAVs have been deployed for foliar application of nutrients and biopesticides in around 6,000 acres in the district, a majority in Kuttanad in the current crop season.
Farmers have undertaken rice cultivation in more than 26,000 ha in the district.
P. Muralidharan, senior scientist and head, KVK, Alappuzha, says he expects the technology to become more popular in the coming seasons.
“At present, the government has given permission to use drones for spraying secondary nutrients, micronutrients, and biopesticides. No permission has been granted to use drones for applying pesticides and other fertilizers. We have used the technology on 175 acres spread across three polders on an experimental basis and the results are good. Drones are more effective and efficient. The cost of drone operations will come down if more farmers switched to the new technology,” says Mr. Muralidharan.
