A company based in Doissat in the Dordogne is going to test its latest creation for the first time on a full-scale basis in March. A drone facilitating the fight against the codling moth. A pest insect that can destroy up to 30% of nut production. The drone, developed and assembled from A to Z by the small drone delivery company Drone Intecallows you to place pheromone traps directly on top of trees.
Founder of the company, Aurélien Carrer has long been aware of the problem. “Being the son of a farmer, I am quite concerned by agricultural issues he explains, and in particular those of walnut cultivation. A pest, the codling moth, damages walnut trees. There are several more conventional control methods, including the spraying of phytosanitary products. But this is not ideal for the environment. There are now alternative means of control and in particular biocontrol products which make it possible to avoid or greatly reduce the use of phytosanitary products. These products can be used in organic farming, but there is an installation constraint: for them to be effective, these famous pheromone diffusers must be placed at the top of the tree..
– Emmanuel Claverie
The company therefore imagined a drone capable of transporting and dropping on top of the walnut trees around fifty traps in one rotation. A huge time saver, explains Maxime Carbonnier, from Drone Intec. Prior to the development of this system, laying traps was rather tedious. Whoever asked a few will tell you that it’s not complicated. I take a pole and I go. Anyone who, coincidentally, laid five or ten hectares the previous year comes to us alone!
For the first time this year, Drone Intec will be able to test its life-size invention. The drones will treat 50 ha of walnut trees from March.