MONSTER, The Netherlands (AP) – Dutch crop grower Rob Baan has enlisted the help of high-tech helpers to tackle a plague in his greenhouses: palm-sized bumblebees search and destroy moths that produce caterpillars that can chew their crops.
“I have unique products where you do not get a chemical spray certificate, and I do not want that,” Baan said in an interview in a greenhouse with the pink glow of LED lights that help his seedlings grow. . His company, Koppert Cress, exports aromatic seedlings, plants and flowers to top-end restaurants around the world.
Baan was a staunch supporter of innovative technology in his greenhouses and turned to PATS Indoor Drone Solutions, a company that develops autonomous drone systems as greenhouse keepers, to add another layer of protection for its plants.
The drones themselves are basic, but they are powered by smart technology, aided by special cameras that scan the airspace in greenhouses.
The drones immediately kill the moths by flying in them and destroying them in the air.
“It sees the moth flying, it knows where the drone is … and then it leads the drone to the moth,” said Kevin van Hecke, technical chief of the PATS.
There were no moths on a recent greenhouse visit by The Associated Press, but the company shot a video shot in a controlled environment showing one bug being instantly pulverized by a rumble rotor.
The drones form part of a variety of pest control systems in Baan’s greenhouses, which also include other bugs, pheromone traps and bumblebees.
The drone system is the brainchild of alumni of the Technical University of Delft who came up with the idea after wondering if they might be able to use drones to kill mosquitoes buzzing in their rooms at night.
Baan says the drone system is smart enough to distinguish between good and bad insects.
“You do not want to kill a ladybug, because a ladybug is very useful against aphids,” he said. ‘They must kill the bad, not the good. And the good ones are sometimes very expensive. I pay at least 50 cents for one bumblebee, so I do not want them to kill my bumblebees. ‘
The young company is still perfecting the technology.
‘It’s still a development product, but we have very good results. We target moths and we take moths out every night in an autonomous way without human intervention, ”said Bram Tijmons, CEO of PATS. “I think it’s a good step forward.”
Baan also acknowledges that the system has yet to be refined.
“I think they still need too many drones … but it will be manageable, it will be less,” he said. “I think they can do this closet with maybe 50 small drones in the future, and then it’s very beneficial.”