AgrifoodV · ·
Drones, sensors, satellite imagery and farm management software are often presented to MD2 pineapple growing areas as the answer to yield and cost. Scientific research on pineapple gives a more cautious picture: the technology can already measure many things with high accuracy, but no study has yet measured how much money it saves in a pineapple field. In Vietnam, drone use has been subject to a new legal framework since 2025–2026. This article separates clearly what has been proven, what has not, and the legal conditions.
Key points
- Drones count inflorescences after flower induction with an error of about 6.4% in commercial fields, and detect ripe fruit to give a yield warning 2–3 months ahead.
- Drone spraying in pineapple fields produces spray drift of 15–56% of the applied volume, reaching as far as 46.5 m depending on wind and flight height.
- No controlled study has yet measured the economic return of drones, sensors, satellites or software on pineapple.
- In Vietnam: drones must be registered, operators must hold a licence (from 1 July 2026), each flight campaign requires a flight permit, and pesticides applied by drone must be on the approved list.
What has been proven on pineapple
| Application | Research findings | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Counting inflorescences after flower induction (Hawaii) | Mean percentage error of 6.37% on drone imagery; the aim is to detect fields where flower induction failed and to schedule harvesting | Hobbs et al., Frontiers in Plant Science, 2021 |
| Detecting ripe fruit (with caps or shade nets) | F1 score of 0.849; the goal is to forecast yield 2–3 months ahead | Shiu et al., Remote Sensing, 2023 |
| Estimating biomass by growth stage (Indonesia) | Each stage suits a different vegetation index; NDVI is not the best index at any stage | Putra et al., Smart Agricultural Technology, 2021 |
| Estimating leaf nitrogen in MD2 with sensors and multispectral drones (Colombia) | Highest accuracy at the first sampling (R² about 87%), falling to 59–69% in later samplings; only a 6-month experiment so far | Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 2024 |
| Identifying pineapple fields with radar satellites in cloudy regions (China) | Pineapple is harder to identify than banana, sugarcane or rice; only one algorithm achieved accuracy above 0.9 | Zhao et al., Remote Sensing, 2019 |
What these have in common: the studies measure technical accuracy. None of the studies found measures economic benefit (cost savings, yield gains, payback period) on pineapple. Any claim along the lines of “digital technology raises pineapple growing-area profit by X%” currently has no source.
The application with the clearest value for MD2 growing areas is monitoring after flower induction: knowing early which fields are flowering unevenly, so that harvesting and deliveries to the processing plant can be re-planned. See also the article on flower induction and harvesting of MD2 pineapple.
Drone spraying: specific points for pineapple
Drone spraying trials in pineapple fields in China (Wang, Lan et al., 2018) showed spray drift accounting for 15.42–55.76% of the total volume applied, with the 90% cumulative drift point lying 3.7–46.5 m from the flight line. The authors identified droplet size and wind speed as the two decisive factors. For export pineapple growing areas, drift is not only wasted pesticide but also a residue risk on neighbouring fields and an environmental risk.
Frequently quoted figures such as “over 90% less water, about 50% lower cost” come from the industry body CropLife Asia, comparing drones with knapsack sprayers, and were not measured on pineapple. Drone operating data in Vietnam are also currently mainly from rice.
The legal framework in Vietnam
Decree 288/2025/ND-CP of 5 November 2025 on the management of unmanned aircraft (replacing Decree 36/2008/ND-CP) sets out three separate procedures:
- Aircraft registration with the Ministry of Public Security (Articles 18 and 20).
- Operator licence issued by the Ministry of National Defence; aircraft of 2 kg or more, flights beyond visual line of sight, or flights on pre-programmed routes require an instrument-based observation flight licence (Article 19). These two procedures apply from 1 July 2026 (Article 34, clause 2).
- Flight permit for each mission, issued by the Ministry of National Defence; for agricultural flight operations, the permit is valid for a maximum of 180 days (Article 21). Applications must be filed at least 7 days before the flight date and are processed within 5 working days (Article 22).
On pesticides: the Plant Protection Department has issued the institutional standard TCCS 830:2022/BVTV on efficacy trials of pesticides applied by drone. Circular 28/2026/TT-BNNMT (signed 30 June 2026, effective 15 August 2026) amends the list of pesticides permitted for use; according to the People’s Representative newspaper (Dai bieu Nhan dan), this is the first time the list includes 6 products registered for drone application. We have not been able to establish whether any of them is registered for pineapple. An official of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection notes that spraying with less water does not mean the mixture may be made more concentrated.
Traceability and growing-area data
The Vietnam Agricultural Product Traceability System of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment was launched on 30 June 2026 (txng.mae.gov.vn). According to Ministry figures reported by VOV on 22 August 2026, the system holds 158,234 products from 200 companies and 2,948 households and cooperatives in 24 of 34 provinces and cities. Pineapple does not yet appear on the system. Together with growing-area codes under Decree 38/2026/ND-CP, this is where plot-level cultivation data will have to “connect” when buyers demand traceability.
For MD2 growing areas, technology only pays off when there is baseline data by plot: planting date, flower induction date, inputs used, yield. See the articles on plot-level data and cost per hectare.
What companies should do
AgrifoodV recommendations:
- Start with plot-level record books and growing-area codes; invest in equipment only once you know which data are needed and who will use them to make decisions.
- If using drones, prioritise monitoring after flower induction and yield forecasting before using them for spraying. When spraying: use only listed pesticides, hold the required licences, log every flight and leave a buffer zone next to neighbouring fields.
- Ask solution providers for measurements taken in pineapple fields, or for a controlled trial on part of the area, rather than relying on data from other crops.
AgrifoodV supports companies in designing raw-material growing-area data and traceability systems.
References
- Hobbs, S. et al. Study on counting pineapple inflorescences from drone imagery. Frontiers in Plant Science, 2021. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.599705.
- Shiu, Lee, Chang. Study on detecting ripe pineapple fruit in drone imagery. Remote Sensing 15(3):814, 2023. DOI: 10.3390/rs15030814.
- Putra et al. Estimating pineapple biomass with multispectral drones. Smart Agricultural Technology, 2021. DOI: 10.1016/j.atech.2021.100025.
- Study on estimating leaf nitrogen in MD2 pineapple with sensors and multispectral drones (Colombia). Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 2024. DOI: 10.1016/j.jafr.2024.101208.
- Zhao et al. Crop classification with Sentinel-1 radar imagery in cloudy regions. Remote Sensing 11(22):2673, 2019. DOI: 10.3390/rs11222673.
- Wang, Lan et al. Study on spray drift from drone application in pineapple fields. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering 11(6), 2018. DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20181106.4038.
- Government of Vietnam. Decree 288/2025/ND-CP of 5 November 2025 on the management of unmanned aircraft and other flying vehicles. hcc.nghean.gov.vn.
- Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. Circular 28/2026/TT-BNNMT of 30 June 2026 amending the list of plant protection products. ppd.gov.vn; People’s Representative newspaper (Dai bieu Nhan dan), news item of 3 July 2026. daibieunhandan.vn.
- Dau Tu newspaper (Vietnam Investment Review). Article on drone use in agriculture, with comments from the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, 14 April 2026. baodautu.vn; People’s Representative newspaper (Dai bieu Nhan dan), article on TCCS 830:2022/BVTV, 28 September 2024. daibieunhandan.vn.
- VOV. News item on the Vietnam Agricultural Product Traceability System, 22 August 2026. vov.vn.
Article by AgrifoodV, compiled from the sources above (accessed 17 October 2026). This content is not a substitute for legal advice on flight procedures and the use of plant protection products. Cover image: Magda Ehlers / Pexels.
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