Priceless staff: how drones help grow better grapes

Winemaking and its important part - the process of growing grapes - only at first glance seem to be the tireless affair that romantic French and leisurely Italians are engaged in. In fact, in order to get a quality grape harvest, farmers have to monitor the condition of the vineyards daily, and spend the whole daylight hours on the plantations during the harvest season. Well, if you are the owner of hundreds or even thousands of hectares of grapes, then even with the help of workers it is difficult to control the presence of pests and diseases, as well as the degree of readiness of the grapes for harvesting. Often the slopes are in different microclimatic conditions, and each variety has its own ripening time. But drones came to the aid of winegrowers, which are already in many large wineries in Europe and America.

The first cooperation of drones and wineries began with the help of pesticides and insecticides in the processing of plantations. Unmanned flying devices tirelessly covered huge distances and delivered chemical preparations exactly to the target. After some time, the drones became smarter and their scope has expanded significantly.

Thanks to the cameras, which recognized the presence of pests or diseases on each particular bush, the drones were able to carry out spot treatment with pesticides. This approach has reduced the consumption of drugs and minimize damage to bees and other beneficial insects.

Using cameras operating in the infrared range, drones can see what is inaccessible to the eyes of even the most experienced farmer. And the range of their capabilities is not limited to the search for dead or diseased vines or the detection of pests. Drones equipped with such cameras can analyze the condition of the soil, in particular its moisture content, which makes it possible to draw up an irrigation plan. In addition, the camera can record the degree of ripeness of berries, which saved the workers of vineyards from daily tedious rounds of vineyards.

And in Australia, they plan to use drones in the near future to fight birds that destroy the crop. Countless flocks of cockatoos arrive at the vineyards exactly at the time the berries ripen, so for farmers such visits result in the loss of most of the crop. The new technique has already been tested, and soon drones will act as field guards from uninvited feathered guests.