Multifaceted Applications of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems (UAVs) in Precision Agriculture: A Critical Review and Future Research Outlook

The development of drones and unmanned aerial vehicle systems (UAVS) has ample scope in precision agriculture. In developing countries, it can help towards economic prosperity due to affordable cost and their sizes suitable for precision agriculture. Pesticides and fertilizers are appropriately applied through UAVS to protect plants from pests and improve their life and harvest. It adequately reduces the health dilemma and number of workers. Willing producers are also utilizing UAVS for soil and field analysis, seed sowing, and spraying fertilizers and pesticides, reducing costs associated with crop scouting and field mapping. This study aims to review the state-of-the-art UAVS in precision agriculture, outlining an overview of the latest applications and providing a future research outlook. We discuss the most common applications, the types of UAVs exploited, and the benefits and drawbacks of each one. In addition, we discussed the areas under which future research is required and the challenges that should be addressed to unlock the full potential of drones in improving crop management, resource efficiency, and overall agricultural productivity.