Drone spraying by crop type
Different crops need different approaches. Browse by crop to find operators with hands-on experience in your production system, plus application timing, typical per-acre rates and equipment recommendations.
Corn
Corn covers over 90 million US acres. Drone fungicide at the VT to R1 tassel stage is the single largest use case for agricultural drones in America.
Soybeans
Soybeans cover over 87 million US acres. Drone applications target white mold, frogeye leaf spot and soybean aphids at the R2 to R3 growth stage.
Wheat
Winter and spring wheat total about 45 million US acres. Drone fungicide at the T3 heading stage targets Fusarium head blight, stripe rust and leaf rust.
Cotton
Cotton covers roughly 10 million US acres. Drone spraying is critical for defoliant applications in September and October when soft Delta soils block ground rigs.
Rice
Rice covers about 2.5 million US acres. Drone spraying is uniquely effective because flooded paddy fields make ground equipment impractical for most of the season.
Grapes / Vineyards
Vineyards cover roughly 1.2 million US acres. Drone spraying handles steep hillside applications where tractors cannot safely operate.
Orchards
Orchards cover more than 5 million US acres. Apple, cherry, peach, almond and walnut operations use drones for dense plantings and hillside blocks.
Cover Crops
Cover crop seeding by drone is one of the fastest-growing ag drone applications in the Midwest, with roughly 15 million acres planted annually.
Row Crops
Row crops is the umbrella category for corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, sorghum and the other field crops planted in defined rows that dominate US drone spraying volume — roughly 240 million planted acres in 2024 per USDA NASS.
Pasture and Rangeland
Pasture and rangeland covers more than 650 million acres in the United States per USDA NASS. Drone spraying is dominated by broadleaf weed control, brush and mesquite knockdown, and fertilizer or seed broadcast on grazing land too rough for ground rigs.
Alfalfa
Alfalfa covers roughly 16 million harvested acres in the United States per USDA NASS, the highest-yielding hay forage crop. Drone spraying targets alfalfa weevil in spring and leaf spot fungicide between cuttings.
Potatoes
Potatoes cover roughly 1 million harvested acres in the United States per USDA NASS, concentrated in Idaho, Washington, Wisconsin and Maine. Drone spraying targets late blight, Colorado potato beetle and an intensive 8-to-12-pass fungicide program per season.