Research status and development trends of key technologies for intelligent plant protection equipment

Crop protection machinery plays a crucial role in modern agricultural production. Advanced plant protection machinery is conducive to optimizing pesticide utilization， improving food quality， and supporting sustainable agricultural practices. Globally， pesticide application products from the United States， Western Europe， and Japan are at the leading level internationally. The relevant products have a high degree of automation and intelligence， and the operation efficiency and effect are generally better than the domestic level. They occupy the vast majority of the market share. By comparison， China demonstrates technical advantages primarily in crop protection drones. To accurately capture the current research status and future directions of crop protection machinery， this article reviews the development history of prominent crop protection equipment， including ground， aerial， and field management robots， both at home and abroad. According to the needs and characteristics of field and orchard pest control， plant protection machinery is subdivided into three technical branches： pesticide application， components， and intelligence. The application technology methods such as variable pesticide application， target pesticide application， electrostatic spray， and wind curtain air delivery are summarized， the technical principles of equipment such as chassis， spray boom balance， and robot drive are analyzed， and the application of intelligent technologies such as drone driving， line walking， and visual navigation are explained. From the perspective of remote management， it also explains the intelligent construction of operation planning， scheduling decision-making， operation evaluation， and digital platform. Comparison of domestic and international technology levels suggests that the future development of plant protection machinery should focus on low-volume， precise pesticide application methods， specialized equipment components， and autonomous， intelligent operation modes. As artificial intelligence continues to advance， plant protection equipment with capabilities for intelligent perception， analysis， decision-making， and automation is expected to dominate future development.