<scp>UAV</scp> Rotors Airflow‐Engineered Microclimate Mitigate Plant Thermal Stress and Enhance Rice Growth and Yield Across Meteorological Dynamics

ABSTRACT Global temperature rises and frequent heat waves increasingly threaten rice production by destabilising canopy and root‐zone microclimates. Natural or conventional airflow management techniques often fail to provide precise, repeatable thermal regulation. In this study, we directly compared rotors airflow‐engineered microclimates with ambient airflows across diurnal cycles (9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m.) and rice growth stages (heading, panicle, flowering). A rotor‐based Wind Wall (WW) system was deployed to simulate rotors‐induced airflow under controlled conditions, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) validated rotor array performance, turbulence distribution, and wind field uniformity. Relative to ambient airflow, rotors airflow reduced canopy‐top temperature variance by up to 48%, maintained peak midday temperature gradients at 0.11°C, and stabilised afternoon gradients to 0.06°C. Mid‐canopy wind speed under rotors airflow decreased from 1.817 m s −1 to 0.446 m s −1 (−75.4%) at noon but rebounded to 0.843 m s −1 (+89%) by 3:00 p.m., improving midday canopy stability. Turbulence intensity remained moderate (0.355–0.390), enhancing canopy aeration and gas exchange, while wind shear across plant layers stabilised between −0.12 and 3.91 s −1 . Physiologically, rotors airflow‐engineered microclimates improved photosynthetic efficiency by 18%, reduced midday root‐zone temperature variability by 33%, and decreased water loss by 14% compared with ambient conditions. Grain yield at flowering reached 43.2 g plant −1 , a 91% increase over restricted airflow and 23% higher than ambient airflow, with the harvest index rising to 37.24% (+14.8%). Across all growth stages and times of day, rotors‐induced airflow consistently mitigated thermal stress, stabilised microclimate conditions, and enhanced nutrient uptake, resulting in more uniform grain filling and superior yield performance. These findings highlight UAV‐based microclimate engineering as a precise and scalable strategy for controlling plant thermal and aerodynamic environments, offering a viable approach to climate change adaptation in rice production systems.