STANDARDIZATION OF DOSAGE FOR DRONE BASED FOLIAR APPLICATION OF FUNGICIDES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF FOLIAR DISEASE OF CHILLI

The use of agricultural spray drones for pesticide application is an innovative and rapidly growing technology in agriculture, offering farmers greater precision and efficiency in managing their crops.However, unlike traditional knapsack sprayers, spray drones currently face a significant challenge: the absence of standardized pesticide dosages for foliar applications.This gap highlights the need for further research and development to optimize drone-based spraying systems for practical and sustainable use.The present study is aimed to establish standardize fungicidal dosages to be used drone-based applications for effective management of anthracnose and powdery mildew in chilli.Field experiments were conducted at HREC, Hidkal and HREC, Devihosur, during the Kharif season of 2023 using a randomized complete block design (RCBD).Treatments included various dosages of fungicides sprayed through drones, at a height of 2 meters and a speed of 5 m/s, with a spray solution of 25 l/ha were compared to knapsack spray of recommended dosage and an untreated control.For anthracnose, the lowest PDI (21.48) was achieved with Hexaconazole 5 EC at 500 ml/ha applied by drone as well as knapsack, which was on par with the 300 ml/ha drone application (PDI 22.96).For powdery mildew, the lowest PDI (14.81) was seen in knapsack, 500 ml/ha, which was on par with drone at 500 ml/ha (15.55) and drone at 250 ml/ha (17.78).Control treatments showed the highest PDI values (55.55 for anthracnose; 61.48 for powdery mildew).No phytotoxicity symptoms were observed with any droneapplied dose and residue analysis of fungicides confirmed that all drone-sprayed chilli samples remained within FSSAI's MRL limits, with no adverse impact on soil health.Additionally, drone applications demonstrated a slightly higher B:C ratio than knapsack sprayer, supporting their economic viability for adoption.