As the use of protected glasshouses to grow fruit and vegetables increases with climate change, it has been found that honey bees, who are traditionally used to pollinate crops, do not cope well in glasshouse environments.
As a result, pollination by hand is often required, a labour-intensive and time-consuming process involving people having to go row by row to vibrate the plants to mimic ‘buzz’ pollination. In response, through Hort Innovation Frontiers, Australian growers and researchers have partnered with Singaporean tech company, Polybee, to trial the use of ‘microdrones’ that pollinate plants using the wind from small turbines.
Measuring about 15cm x 15cm in size, the microdrones hover over each cluster of flowers for up to 15 seconds to disperse the pollen before moving on to the next plant. These devices operate 24/7, automatically returning to a dock to recharge when required, significantly reducing labour costs and increasing efficiency.
Initially trialled in tomato and strawberry crops, the technology is showing promising results, paving the way for continued enhancement of this new pollination method for adoption by industry.
As production increasingly moves into protected environments, a solution that reduces dependency on labour for manual pollination, increases yield and delivers more consistent fruit would be a game-changer for growers and consumers.
This innovative microdrone technology is also being considered for other uses in glasshouses, such as dispersing fertilisers, and research is underway to harness the full potential of microdrone technology as a valuable tool in modern agriculture.
Polybee’s Sarthak Mittal said that “Through Hort Innovation Frontiers we have been provided valuable resources and contacts, allowing us to work with some of the biggest growers in this industry. They have also given us access to glasshouses and protected cropping environments where we have been able to test our technology.”
