Deterrent Drones Fly The Sky To Save Crops

Deterrent Drones Fly The Sky To Save Crops CROPS Insect Control A Washington State University WSU research team is using automated drones to keep pesky birds away from valuable crops The hands-free system can patrol 24/7 to keep starlings crows and other flying fowl away during daylight and possibly other pests like raccoons and deer away at night WSU’s Manoj Karkee says producers who grow valuable grapes cherries blueberries raspberries and apples currently don’t have an economical way to keep pests like crows and starlings away Losses in Washington alone are estimated at more than $80 million Field-mounted nets electronic devices air horns and fluttering fabric visual scare devices have limited success because they’re sight specific and don’t cover large areas The WSU system detects and counts pests with cameras then deploys drones to scare them away with motion and whirring noises from the rotors Karkee says other sounds like distress or predatory bird calls could be added Drones could also be made to look like predators and use reflective rotor blades WSU first tested the system with manually-operated drones making random flights which successfully drove birds away from vineyards reducing their presence four-fold The second test showed that driving birds away resulted in 50 percent less damaged fruit They’re now working with growers and technology companies on a system that can be produced and marketed commercially Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Department of Agricultural Automation and Robotics Washington State University Pullman Wash 99163

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.