Jiangxi Zhengbang: Continuing investment in technical research and development, focusing on problem-solving via precise countermeasures

Editor’s note: According to relevant data, by the end of 2023, plant protection UAVs' capacity reached 200,000 units in China. They served an application area of over 2.1 billion mu (140 million Ha), especially with the continued rise in the application to control of rice and wheat pests and diseases. China has become the country with the largest capacity of agriculture drones in the world and the most extensive application area, leading the global aerial application operations in respect of annual operating area, application volume and technical level. 

With the gradual popularization of aerial application, problems are also emerging daily, such as the lack of particular pesticides for aerial application, lack of a sound administration system, lack of effective industry or national standards, lack of professional operator team, and satisfactory social service system. As a critical factor in aerial application,  the aerial application-oriented particular pesticides remain as one of the problems that need to be solved urgently. 

Prime aerial crop protection players have successively upgraded their existing products, or developed new formulations to better match the needs of aerial application scenarios. In addition to making efforts on product and technology, some companies are committed to the whole industrial chain development for aerial application by providing farmers with an integrated ″product + service″ solution.

In light of the existing problems, key players have made suggestions and called for improvement to the administration system as early as possible, wishing to participate in the establishment of effective industry standards or national standards, as well as establishment of a stable and professional pilot organizations. At the same time, the entire industrial chain is required to collaborate closely so as to enable a high-quality development of the aerial crop protection industry.

Recently, AgroPages invited some key players in this field to discuss and analyze the problems and challenges faced by aerial applications, share solutions, practical experiences and forecast the future. These companies include Noposion, Wynca, Syngenta, Bayer CropScience, Guangxi Tianyuan and Jiangxi Zhengbang. In this article, Zhang Liutong, Director of R&D Management Dep, Zhengbang Crop Research Institute shared his insights.

Zhang Liutong, Director of R&D Management Dep, Zhengbang Crop Research Institute

For the Chinese market, can you brief the crop protection products launched by Jiangxi Zhengbang for aerial applications? What is Jiangxi Zhengbang’s plan for aerial applications?

Targeting major crops, Jiangxi Zhengbang has launched a series of products like Tianyongfeng and Baishifeng, which can meet the needs of applications to major crops such as rice, wheat, and corn in different regions.

Moreover, the company has launched an aerial application-oriented adjuvant, which has been authorized a national invention patent. It is effective in enhancing pesticide wetting, permeability, adhesion, and anti-drift, being distinctive in improving the efficacy of products; it is highly safe, mild, and synergistic. Its wider range of use includes: Not only applicable to field crops like rice but is also applicable to citrus, apple, tea tree, and other fruit trees; being synergistic for control of mites, red spiders, scale insects, and aphids; when being added into formulations, it is significantly synergistic for control of citrus canker, black spot disease, and dark mildew.

Regarding our future development plan in aerial application, firstly, we are prepared to continue our investment in technical research and development, especially in crop protection products and precision application technologies for aerial application. Through close cooperation with universities and research institutions, we expect to constantly improve the effect of pesticide application and the efficacy of products to better meet the crop protection needs in complex topography and crop categories. In addition, our company is developing and about to launch a number of pesticide products which are more fit for aerial application. Our key product range can cover aerial application to rice, wheat, corn, citrus and fruit trees with a complete product layout. Secondly, we will continue the employment of experts of relevant technical disciplines to train our sales staff on aerial application; we will establish a complete service network to provide farmers with more convenient and efficient crop protection service, helping them solve the problem of plant disease and insect pest to improve crop yield and quality. Furthermore, we will closely watch the market changes in the aerial application industry and adjust the product structure and market strategy in a timely manner.

What are Jiangxi Zhengbang’s biggest challenges in development, production and application of aerial crop protection products and what are your solutions? What are the major technical difficulties which require urgent action?

The R&D spending on related products is at the high side in the early stage. After product release in 1-2 years, imitated products are launched to market, resulting in serious product homogenization; the development requirement of different types of formulations is different, such as the requirement of the lower viscosity of suspension agent but without separation of water, the water-dispersible granules being completely ″dissolved″ but should not block the screen sieve, the complete emulsion of emulsifiable concentrate products at the low fold, the compatibility of fertilizers with tank-mix formulations.

To address the above issues, the following solutions are suggested:

• Constant innovation and upgrading: To continuously improve existing products to improve product performance and user experience; to develop new product lines to meet the diverse needs of the market; to explore new application areas and technologies to maintain technological leadership. 

  
  

• Differentiated competitive strategy: To highlight the unique selling points and advantages of products, such as environment-friendliness, efficiency and safety; to provide professional technical service and after-sales support to enhance customer stickiness. 

  
  

• Market positioning and brand building: To determine market positioning and carry out precision marketing for different market segments; to strengthen brand publicity to enhance brand awareness and reputation; and build up brand loyalty to resist homogeneous competition, as backed up by the brand effect. 

  
  

• Technical R&D and cooperation: To cooperate with scientific research institutions and universities in joint development of formulations of good compatibility such as nano suspension, water suspension, and ultra-low-volume liquid agents. 

Technical difficulties:

• At present, in aerial application, major growers are used to one-time mixed sprays of pesticide, fertilizer and plant growth regulators (labor-cost-saving consideration); the use of multi-type product mix made by different manufacturers could result in incompatibility, antagonism, or safety risk. Improvement is necessary to achieve broad-spectrum product compatibility.

  
  

• For the sake of spraying effectiveness and safety, it is important that aerial application is operated with optimal integration of technical specification, drift is reduced in the spraying process, and the target crops are precisely sprayed. 

  
  

• To adapt to the requirement of low-volume spraying, the high concentration of liquid agent and the fineness of spray droplet must be met. In the meantime, it is necessary to consider the impact of the downward wind under the wings on the effect of the application.

Looking at the entire industry chain or ecosystem of aerial application, what do you think are the issues to be solved urgently to facilitate the industry development towards a new level? What are your expectations and recommendations to the government and industry players?

The number of agricultural drone operators is increasing rapidly, but personnel quality and professionalism need to be improved; although progress has been made in the technical advancement of aerial applications, there is still room for improvement, such as flying stability, navigation accuracy, and intelligent operation.

It is suggested that the government and involved enterprises increase investment in research and development of aerial application-related technology and encourage industry-university-research cooperation to promote technical innovation; government and industry players ought to work together to strengthen training and education of farmers to improve their understanding and ability to apply aerial crop protection technology. Furthermore, the government may need to increase support to aerial application services, foster professional service teams, establish sound after-sales safeguard systems, strengthen publicity and promotion of aerial crop protection, and improve the awareness and acceptance of farmers and agricultural enterprises of the aerial application.

Can you predict the future development trend of the aerial application industry?

The future trend of aerial application looks to develop as follows:

• Market size continues to grow. With the advancement of agricultural modernization and farmer’s increased demand for efficient and environment-friendly crop protection solutions, the market demand for aerial application services will continue to grow. 

  
  

• Technical innovation to become an important driver of industry development. Innovations in drone technology, intelligent control technology, and precision application technology are expected to promote the development of aerial applications towards efficiency and precision. 

  
  

• Industry standardization to improve continuously. With continuous industry development, the relevant industry standards and criteria will continue to improve, which will help to improve the overall industry level and competitiveness.

  
  

• Industry upstream and downstream practitioners should cooperate more closely. The development of aerial applications is inseparable from the support and collaboration of all relevant business sectors, such as drone manufacturing, pesticide research and development, agricultural production, etc. In the future, these sectors are expected to cooperate more closely in joint promotion of the development of the aerial application industry.

This interview was published in AgroPages '2024 Formulation&Adjuvant Technology' magazine. Click the following picture to Read/Download. 

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