Technology brings safety and assertiveness to aerial applications

Brazilian agricultural aviation turns 75 years old in 2022. Along this trajectory, the activity has undergone several transformations, with advances in both forms of application and aircraft models. Currently, the country maintains its position as the second largest agricultural air force on the planet, with a fleet of 2.400 aircraft that spray more than 80 million hectares/year, according to estimates by the National Union of Agricultural Aviation Companies (Sindag).

The evolution of the sector accompanies the incorporation of new technologies, which offer greater performance and precision in applications. Given this scenario, appropriate choices are crucial in the search for productivity and quality of crops, and it is essential that field applications occur in a safe and assertive manner.

“Some of the most difficult decisions in agriculture are the choices of inputs, especially those used to protect plants. Furthermore, we have to be sure that the product will reach the target”, says Luis Gustavo Nunes, agricultural development manager at Usina Alta Mogiana, in São Joaquim da Barra (SP). “We were able to obtain greater safety and positive results with the training of pilot teams, associated with the Aerial Application Technology Workshop", referring to the calibration of the agricultural aircraft spraying system.

Aerial Application Technology Workshop (OTAA)

The Aerial Application Technology Workshop (OTAA), to which Nunes refers, is a set of actions that seek maximum accuracy in the calibration of spraying aircraft. The regulation takes into account the detailed analysis of a series of factors. Among the main advantages are the indication of the ideal width of the working range, uniform spray pattern, better performance and greater safety in the work performed.

“It is a distribution of knowledge, you use equipment to analyze the collection thread and gather data but, during the process, all the people involved literally get their hands dirty. Be it pilot, agricultural technician, farm manager, input supplier, in short, everyone follows how the plane is correctly calibrated to deliver the necessary quantity, where it is needed and in the best possible way”, summarizes Antonio Loures S. Jr., CEO from AG Solution and specialist in aerial application technology.

The specialist explains that all details are taken into account and cites, as an example, the size of the drops and whether the delivery is really what was designed. “A simple nozzle adjustment can result in calibrations with a coefficient of variation of less than ten percent in delivery per hectare. If it is not in agreement, stop the plane, calibrate and adjust it, so that the best application rate per liter/hectare is obtained”, specifies Loures.

OTAA technology has been available in Brazil since March 2021. Developed by an American company in partnership with the USDA, the United States Department of Agriculture, it was improved and adapted by AG Solution for the Brazilian reality, taking into account factors such as variations of climate. “We imported knowledge and equipment, such as the multi spectrophotometer, considered the most important in the entire system. We developed everything else here, we spent about a year working on adapting the concept to the needs of the field in Brazil”, ponders Loures.

A national reference in aerial applications, agronomist Glauberto Moderno Costa states that the Aerial Application Technology Workshop uses the concept of PDCA, an acronym in English for Plan, Do, Check and Act, which is used in process quality management.

“It is a service in which there is interaction between all Application processes, from agronomic needs, product selection to reaching the Application team and, specifically, the aircraft and ground team. And that's exactly where the whole process, backwards, applies. In this way, it prepares professionals with concepts between theory and practice, in search of sustainability”, reports Moderno.

OTAA is an exchange of knowledge and experiences, with theoretical and practical training. With at least a full day of immersion, it is the opportunity for all professionals to train and improve, keeping up to date with new technologies and best practices for aerial spraying. For the pilot, specifically, it is a way to increase operational performance, ensuring operational safety and delivering what is truly possible. On the other hand, for the producer, the Workshop allows for better application performance and he knows what the equipment can actually deliver.

In Mato Grosso do Sul Janio Sanávria, lead pilot at Usina Sonora / Rio Corrente Agrícola, guarantees that the return, with learning, is certain. “Observing the quality and productivity of our current grain harvest, compared to last year, I have no doubt in saying that the investment made by the company, to improve and train the team of pilots and ground staff, was worthwhile. Today we have better productivity, thanks to the quality of the aerial application, combined with the monitoring carried out by support professionals”, he declares.

Optimization of results occurs within global standards of economic, social and environmental sustainability. “A calibrated aircraft operating within its capacity is synonymous with more product in the field and very low risk of drift. We join efforts to offer customers solutions that increasingly help the assertiveness of operations, as well as the adoption of good agricultural practices. Profitability and sustainability go hand in hand”, concludes Antonio Loures S. Jr.