Drones fly for better fruit
AEROBOTICS, an aerial data-analytics company based in Cape Town, revealed its concept to Limpopo fruit growers on Thursday at the Kings Walden Garden Manor in Agatha.
“The 1900’s represented the mechanical era of farming, 1950’s to 1990’s the chemical and bio-chemical era and currently we are in the digital era where data is used to detect problems and make corrections,” said co-founder James Paterson via a live streaming presentation.
“Fifteen percent of the fruit industry is affected by pests and diseases and it is quite difficult to collect accurate data on large farms as it is being done manually by means of scouting.”
This is where, according to Aerobotics, they can make a huge contribution to the industry. Flying a drone fitted with a high resolution camera, called ‘drone scouting’, data is collected and analysed by Aerobotics.
Weekly satellite health maps of the vineyards and orchards, images for each tree which portray health and physical dimensions, colour coding according to tree health, GPS referenced scout routes, assessment of hail damage and accurate reporting are some of the benefits available to the grower.
Drones can fly at low altitude which makes it possible to assess crops grown under protective cover. Costs are R40 per hectare per month but if the farmer flies his / her own drone, the data can be processed by Aerobotics and reports generated at R25 per hectare per month
