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Research Article | DOI: https://doi.org/10.31579/2637-8914/309
Department of Irrigation and Reclamation Engineering, College of Agricultural and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran.
*Corresponding Author: Iman Hajirad, Department of Irrigation and Reclamation Engineering, College of Agricultural and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Iran.
Citation: Iman Hajirad, (2025), Using Smart Drones to Revolutionize Agriculture: Improving Farm Management and Irrigation in the Technological Age, J. Nutrition and Food Processing, 8(5); DOI:10.31579/2637-8914/309
Copyright: © 2025, Iman Hajirad. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Received: 31 March 2025 | Accepted: 14 April 2025 | Published: 18 April 2025
Keywords: agricultural drones; smart agriculture; precision irrigation; artificial intelligence in farming
Modern technologies are now crucial for sustainable agriculture in response to the problems posed by climate change, depleting water supplies, and the rising demand for food production worldwide. Agricultural drones have become one of the most advanced technologies for intelligent farm management and irrigation optimization among these developments. Armed with thermal sensors, multispectral cameras, and artificial intelligence, these drones give precise information on plant and soil conditions, empowering farmers to make well-informed choices. Plant health evaluation and field monitoring are two of the most important uses of drones. Drones can identify plant diseases, water stress, soil moisture levels, and nutrient deficiencies using thermal imaging and spectrum analysis. This enables farmers to maximize irrigation and fertilization schedules while reducing resource waste. Another important feature of this system is smart aerial watering. Modern drone versions are especially helpful for vast farms, remote locations, and sloping terrain since they can evenly and precisely spray water, liquid fertilizer, and insecticides over crops. Notwithstanding their many benefits, obstacles like high upfront costs, low battery life, the requirement for sophisticated communication systems, and stringent flight rules continue to be major obstacles to their widespread use. Broader adoption of this technology can be facilitated, nevertheless, by funding research and development, increasing farmer knowledge, and strengthening supportive regulations. Potential ways to get over the present restrictions include creating solar-powered models, increasing the payload capacity of drones, and integrating artificial intelligence to analyze data collected by drones. Additionally, the effective use of this technology can be improved by setting up agricultural drone service centers and offering specialized training courses. In the end, drones are expected to become a crucial component of contemporary agriculture, greatly enhancing crop quality, production, and water conservation as a result of declining costs, expanded capabilities, and more accommodating laws.
Climate change, water resource depletion, and the growing demand for food production worldwide have pushed agriculture to embrace contemporary technologies in recent years. There is a growing need for more accurate and effective solutions because traditional farm management techniques and irrigation technologies are no longer able to handle the new problems. Among these options, agricultural drones have become one of the most cutting-edge smart technologies, revolutionizing intelligent irrigation, crop monitoring, and farm management. With the aid of multispectral cameras, heat sensors, spectroscopic technology, and artificial intelligence, these gadgets gather precise information about plant and soil conditions, empowering farmers to make the best choices possible (Su & Singh, 2024). Plant health evaluation and field monitoring are two of drones' most crucial agricultural applications. Drones can identify symptoms of disease, nutrient deficits in plants, the degree of water stress, and soil moisture levels using thermal imaging and spectral analysis (Figure 1). Farmers may reduce resource waste by modifying irrigation and fertilizing programs according to the real demands of the plants thanks to this technology, which provides precise and current data. Additionally, drones can locate diseased and pest-affected areas and stop their spread, which significantly lowers the need for chemical pesticides and protects the environment (Guebsi et al., 2024).Smart aerial irrigation is another use for drones. Certain sophisticated variants of these machines can evenly and precisely spray insecticides, liquid fertilizers, and water on agricultural crops. This technique is a great substitute for conventional irrigation and spraying methods, especially in huge fields, hard-to-reach places, and sloping terrain. These drones' remote control and autonomous programming features maximize water and agricultural input use while also saving time and labor expenses (García-Munguía et al., 2024). The widespread use of drones in agriculture is still hampered by issues including high startup costs, low battery capacity, the requirement for sophisticated communication infrastructure, and strict flight laws, despite the technology's many benefits. But more widespread adoption of this technology may be facilitated by funding R&D, educating farmers, and strengthening laws that support it. The main uses of drones in farm management and irrigation, as well as the difficulties this technology faces, will be further discussed in the parts that follow (Shuaibu et al., 2025).
Figure 1: Drone-based thermal imaging and spectral analysis for plant health and soil monitoring.
Drone Applications for Farm Monitoring and Irrigation
One of the most vital instruments in contemporary agriculture, drones are essential for maximizing water use, raising output, and cutting expenses. With the use of precise data, this technology gives farmers better control over their fields, enhancing insect control, fertilization, and irrigation (Shah et al., 2024). Soil moisture monitoring is one of the most important uses of drones in agriculture. These gadgets can detect regions that are facing water scarcity by using thermal sensors and multispectral cameras. This skill reduces water waste and produces crops of higher quality by assisting farmers in implementing targeted and intelligent irrigation strategies. Drone data can provide exact patterns of moisture distribution throughout the land, enabling better irrigation scheduling. Some sophisticated drones can do aerial watering in addition to soil monitoring. These drones are capable of evenly dousing crops with water, liquid fertilizer, and even insecticides. This approach is especially helpful for difficult-to-reach places and uneven terrain. In addition to using less water, aerial irrigation makes ensuring that herbicides and fertilizers are applied more uniformly throughout the field, increasing their efficacy (Kumar et al., 2023).
The identification of nutrient deficits and plant diseases is another useful use of drones in agriculture. Before becoming apparent to the unaided sight, the symptoms of many illnesses and pests appear at invisible wavelengths, like infrared. By taking and analyzing these photos, drones can promptly locate diseased areas and stop the spread of illness. In addition to lowering pesticide expenses, this capacity preserves crop quality and helps avoid environmental contamination (Aiswarya et al., 2024). Drones are also utilized for field data analysis and precision farming. They are able to provide precise maps of soil quality, nutrient distribution, and plant development. Farmers can use this information to assist them decide when to sow, fertilize, and harvest. Drone data collection can also be used to design agricultural product marketing and sales strategies and forecast crop productivity. Drones are generally regarded as clever and effective instruments for sustainable agriculture management. In addition to helping to maximize the use of fertilizer and water, they also lower production costs, increase agricultural productivity, and improve crop quality. Future farm management is anticipated to be fully data-driven and intelligent due to the growth of this technology (Rahmah et al., 2025).
Drone Use in Agriculture: Obstacles and Restrictions
Drones have many benefits for agriculture, but there are still obstacles and restrictions preventing this technology from being quickly implemented on all farms. The high cost of buying and using drones is one of the biggest obstacles. Small and medium-sized farmers might not be able to acquire agricultural drones due to their high cost, particularly those with sophisticated sensors and multispectral cameras. The initial investment is further increased by maintenance expenses, the purchase of replacement parts, and recurring repairs (Askarzadeh et al., 2025).
Drones' limited cargo capacity is another significant obstacle. The majority of agricultural drones are limited in their ability to transport water, fertilizer, or insecticides, and they are unable to disperse these substances in significant quantities at once. Due to this restriction, larger farms may need more drones or make more frequent flights, which could raise expenses and reduce productivity (Vellingiri et al., 2025). The requirement for technical expertise and specific training to efficiently operate drones is another difficulty. Farmers need to be knowledgeable in data processing, picture analysis, sensor settings, and flight operations in order to fully utilize this technology. There is a chance that improper analysis of the gathered data could result in poor conclusions if insufficient information is present.Drone use in agriculture may be hindered by strict flight laws and restrictions in addition to technical problems (Rahmah et al., 2025). Drone flights are subject to legal permits and height and range restrictions in certain nations and areas. These rules, which call for various permissions and adherence to flight standards, may restrict farmers' ability to use the technology freely. Drones' reliance on the weather presents another difficulty. When there is a lot of wind or rain, drone performance can be affected. Moreover, in certain places, drones are limited by battery life and the necessity for frequent recharging, which can prevent them from functioning for extended durations. This can lead to extended operational durations and greater associated expenditures (Das et al., 2025).Notwithstanding these difficulties, new developments in technology are progressively lifting current restrictions. Many of these challenges should be resolved if drones with more sophisticated sensors, powerful batteries, and intelligent data analysis algorithms are developed. Furthermore, farmers can adopt this technology with lower costs and better understanding if governments and relevant organizations support training programs and subsidies (Emimi et al., 2023).All things considered, despite ongoing difficulties, drones are becoming a more viable option for agricultural management in the future. Drones are expected to play a significant role in modern agriculture in the years to come due to their declining costs, expanded capabilities, and relaxed flight laws. This will help to improve product quality, cut water consumption, and raise productivity (Ok, 2025).
A major advance in smart irrigation and farm management optimization, the use of agricultural drones greatly increases agricultural productivity while using fewer resources. The results of this study show that drones with thermal cameras, multispectral sensors, and artificial intelligence can precisely measure soil moisture content, plant health, and nutritional needs. With the use of this skill, farmers may decide on irrigation and fertilization schedules with knowledge, increasing crop yields and reducing resource waste. Drones are also essential for the early detection of pest infestations and plant illnesses, which greatly lowers the need for chemical pesticides and promotes environmental preservation. Notwithstanding its many benefits, a number of drawbacks prevent this technology from being widely used, such as expensive upfront costs, a small payload capacity for transporting liquids, and the requirement for specialized training to optimize efficiency. Large-scale drone deployment is further complicated by strict flight laws and communication infrastructure requirements in some nations. Additionally, drone performance is heavily influenced by weather, and battery life limitations may reduce their operational effectiveness, especially in unfavorable regions.
Innovations like solar-powered drones, larger payload capacity, and better AI-driven data processing systems can help agricultural drones become more effective in overcoming these obstacles. Wider adoption can also be promoted by setting up service centers for drone maintenance and support, offering farmers specialized training programs, and offering government subsidies. Drone incorporation into contemporary farming methods can be further facilitated by shortening the licensing procedure and simplifying regulatory requirements. Overall, it is anticipated that drones will become an essential tool in contemporary agriculture because to their declining costs, improved capabilities, and supportive legislation. This technique helps with effective water resource management and environmental sustainability in addition to increasing the amount and quality of agricultural output. Investments in this area can open the door to sustainable and intelligent farming, guaranteeing the best possible management of food and water resources worldwide.
An important breakthrough in agriculture that can boost output, save water use, and improve farm management is the use of drones, especially for irrigation and agricultural monitoring. This technology enables smart irrigation, the detection of pests and plant diseases, and accurate soil moisture monitoring with the use of sophisticated sensors and multispectral cameras. This strategy has several advantages, such as lower production costs, higher agricultural yields, less water use, and less contamination of the environment. The broad use of this technology is currently hampered by issues including high upfront costs, the requirement for specialized training, regulatory limitations, and drones' restricted payload capacity. Governments, academic institutions, and the corporate sector must collaborate to lower costs, create new technology, and give farmers hands-on training in order to address these challenges. The future of sustainable agriculture will inevitably depend on the development and application of drone technology in irrigation and farm management, given the world's population growth and the depletion of water resources. In addition to improving agricultural productivity, investments in this sector will result in the long-term, ideal management of food and water resources globally.
A number of crucial technological, training, regulatory, and infrastructure initiatives are required to advance the use of drones in irrigation. Irrigation efficiency can be improved by combining drones with drip irrigation systems, increasing their payload capacity to lower operating costs, and processing data using artificial intelligence (AI). Drone adoption can be facilitated by providing financial subsidies for farmers, streamlining regulatory procedures, and establishing supportive legal infrastructure. Establishing drone servicing centers and offering training programs can also lower expenses and improve farmers' understanding. Drone capabilities will be further enhanced by investing in research and development for sophisticated sensors and optimization algorithms, as well as by creating solar-powered or hybrid drones to get around battery restrictions. Drones have the potential to transform irrigation techniques, lower water usage, and increase agricultural output by putting these strategies into practice, opening the door for intelligent and sustainable farming.