Spray Drone Application
When disease threatens a crop—often late in the growing season when getting equipment into the field is not possible—aerial application treats problems and prevents yield-robbing damage. Soil Service uses agricultural spray drones to deliver the most effective aerial application. Because you can combine fungicide application with insecticides and other foliar nutrients, drone application is extremely efficient.
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Our hassle-free process
Soil Service, Inc.’s spray drone application program is carefully managed to be hassle-free and reliable for our growers. We own our own drones, have our own pilots’ licenses, and have an application exemption through a trusted partner. We customize your program to give you the best value for your dollar and use a minimum application rate of 2 gallons per acre.
Our proven products
Our highly effective drone spraying program includes many potential options: our two proprietary spray surfactants, fungicide, slow release nitrogen, Foliar Opp®, micronutrients, and insecticides are all available.
We have studied fungicide efficacy at Louisiana State University and Southern Illinois University, as well as on our research farm. Our research has shown that using our spray surfactants—Landoil® and SOIL BOOST PLUS®—along with fungicide and fertilizer will enhance your spray drone program’s performance, allowing you the opportunity to maximize your yields.
Landoil and SOIL BOOST PLUS improve the coverage and effectiveness of your fungicides. In addition, on our research farm over multiple replications, foliar feeding one gallon of slow release nitrogen increased corn yields 7.4 bu/acre. The nitrogen we have studied and recommend is 28% nitrogen that is 72% slow release. Finally, our research found that by including another gallon of our Foliar Opp orthophosphate potassium liquid fertilizer, you can potentially increase your yields 5–10 bushels per acre on both corn and soybeans.
Soil Service’s spray drone fungicide and foliar feeding program has been proven to be the best, giving you a strong, healthy crop throughout the growing season that is also able to handle severe drought stress.
Spray Drone Application FAQs
What are Landoil and SOIL BOOST PLUS?
Our spray surfactants—Landoil and SOIL BOOST PLUS—are incorporated in our drone mixes. With Landoil and SOIL BOOST PLUS, you’ll get improved coverage, lower spray solution pH, and better surface coverage and adherence. When added to your spray drone mix, these products result in a solution that is rain fast in 20 minutes with excellent penetration and translocation capability.
What application rate does SOIL Service recommend?
We apply at an application rate of 2 gallons per acre. With the ability to apply at just 10 feet above the crop using spray drone application, this rate is effective and comparable to a 3-gallon rate applied with crop duster.
Do you recommend drone application for both soybeans and corn?
Spray drone application is very effective in both soybeans and corn. In corn, corn-on-corn and no-till acres, drone application may provide the greatest return on investment since these crops are more susceptible to disease. Taking into consideration the disease tolerance ratings on your corn hybrid can also help you gauge how profitable a preventative spray drone application may be.
When is spray drone application most profitable?
In soybeans, our research has proven application at the R3 stage to be most profitable. In corn, application at the VT stage is most effective.
What services does Soil Service provide with spray drone application?
We work with you to determine the products needed for your crop and situation, schedule the application, make the maps, and load the drone—making sure all this happens in a timely manner to maximize your benefit from the application.
What diseases are treated?
The list could be exhaustive, but a few of the most common diseases we treat are listed below.
- Beans – frog eye leaf spot, bacterial blight, brown spot
- Corn – gray leaf spot, southern corn leaf blight, common rust
In what regions do you apply?
Soil Service does spray drone application throughout Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri, and we are able to consider application in other states as well.