From Knapsack to Drone: Revolutionizing Pest Management in Indian Agriculture

Abstract

Agricultural pest management in India is gradually shifting from labour-intensive conventional spraying towards precision and smart technologies. The transition from the knapsack sprayer to agricultural drones represents an important step in this transformation. While knapsack sprayers remain affordable and practical for small farms, they require considerable labour and direct operator involvement. Agricultural drones equipped with GPS, sensors, cameras and spraying systems can improve the speed, accessibility and precision of crop-protection operations. Their applications extend beyond spraying to crop monitoring, pest surveillance, field assessment and site-specific management. ICAR demonstrations have highlighted their potential for reducing spray-water requirements and improving operational efficiency, while government initiatives under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization have supported wider field demonstrations. However, high initial cost, operator training, weather conditions, spray drift, regulatory requirements and crop-specific application protocols remain important challenges. The future of drone-based pest management lies in integrating drones with Integrated Pest Management, remote sensing, artificial intelligence and data-driven decision-making to enable timely, precise and resource-efficient crop protection.