Imsil-gun Introduces Remote Pest Control System for Orchard Farmers

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Nosik] Imsil-gun, Jeonbuk, has established a remote pest control system for fruit farmers and has begun full-scale trial operation.

According to the County Agricultural Technology Center, in order to drastically reduce the pest control efforts of fruit farmers, a remote pest control system was introduced this year on a 2-hectare peach orchard and has entered trial operation.

The most difficult and strenuous task for fruit farmers is applying pesticides, which are crop protection agents, for pest control. To maintain tree health and fruit quality, crop protection agents must be applied about 10 times a year in accordance with pesticide safety use standards.

However, during the application process, farmers are directly or indirectly exposed to crop protection agents, causing various poisoning incidents such as allergies and respiratory difficulties.

In midsummer, due to the heat, farmers often neglect wearing protective gear, leading to frequent exposure to pesticides.

To solve these difficulties faced by fruit farmers, the county introduced a remote pest control system.

This system uses smartphones and wireless controllers (up to 2 km) to remotely operate unmanned pest control devices, reducing work time by more than 90% compared to conventional powered pest control machines.

Mr. Lee Sugeun, a pilot farmer using this equipment, said, “Wearing masks and protective gear for several hours in the heat was suffocating and felt like sitting in a steam room, which was very difficult. Now, I just have to press a switch under a cool shade, so it is very comfortable and good.”

The Agricultural Technology Center plans to closely analyze the pest control efficiency and operational stability of the remote pest control system through this pilot project, improve any shortcomings, and continuously expand its distribution to reduce labor and increase work convenience for fruit farmers.

County Governor Shim Min said, “Through the pilot operation of the remote pest control system, we will improve its stability and address any shortcomings so that many farmers can use it. We will carefully manage the pilot operation stage to ensure that local farmers can use it comfortably and safely without being exposed to risks.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.