French winegrowers use drone to protect vineyard grapes

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Technological disruption? More like revolution! Tests currently underway using late blight control agents aim to change legislation allowing drones to spray wine grapes in France’s most popular vineyards.

Spray drones protect grapes from mildew in French vineyards

France can be quite touchy when it comes to playing with traditions rooted in the nation’s history and culture, and that certainly applies to its food and wine. As a result, changes in production methods are scrutinized to ensure that they do not in any way alter or undermine their characteristic “French”. This regularly requires legal changes, as all in French, life is in a way framed by a law somewhere. That is why the ongoing tests of drones for the anti-mold spraying of grapes in French vineyards aim at operational and legislative objectives in the same mission.

Although laws regulating agricultural activity have permitted the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in various ways, a temporary waiver was needed in 2018 to allow the deployment of drones for spraying grapes in vineyards. And even then, it was only for experimentation. Oh, and exclusively on plants growing on slopes of 30% or more to boot.

France, as has been noted, loves legislation as much as it resists change.

Now, with this highly conditioned 2018 exemption expiring in November, several hilltop vineyards are flying drones to tackle the scourge of late blight, which can destroy budding grapes (and thus leave tradition-loving wine drinkers very dry. ).

The race to send UAVs among the raised vines is on for two different reasons.

The first is to obtain clear evidence that the device offers an improvement over manual spraying by workers carrying 30 kg. Tubs of anti-mold agent rise and fall from steep hills. This data will be handed over to sympathetic lawmakers in wine regions, who promise to further liberalize the use of drones by vineyards once the test waiver expires. The second driver was the miserably humid and relatively cool temperatures across France this summer, the humidity of which has dramatically increased the threat of grapevine rot.

And so drones were sent on an urgent dual mission. According to reports, the Alsace, Champagne, Beaujolais and Ard̬che vineyards participating in the authorized trials tout the advantages of the use of drones over humans. While the latter is generally takes between three and six hours to spray 2.5 acres of vines, drones have covered the same area in one or two Рdepending on whether or not the pilot is assisted by someone filling the tank.

And while the effectiveness of the anti-mold agent is the same in both modes, the drones have been considerably more precise in spraying. This, according to experts, makes it possible to apply a less concentrated mixture of sulfur, copper, nettle and manure allowed by the rules of organic farming, which is better for the planet. None of these compounds, meanwhile, are found on or in humans pumping canisters (which, as they will note, is better for them).

These results give vineyard owners hope that further liberalization of drone use will make manual spraying a thing of the past – starting with hillside production which can gradually be expanded elsewhere. Because, as they know, the introduction of disruptive drone technology can be a slippery slope. They initially got the legal right to use drones equipped with sensors to detect nutrient deficiencies, distress, and disease in vines before they got the 2018 spray exemption. Now, they hope, their buzz revolution will prove to be unstoppable as it continues to fly.

Photo: Michael Ender

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