Airborne Solutions undertook a forestry spraying operation in the late summer this year and are pleased to share the results with you!
This particular block on East Gorge station has had planting deferred until 2023 and because of this the land owner wanted to do a hold spray to keep the weeds and regen pine at bay until then.
This block was small in size, a long way from the nearest heli base, and the land owner had already planted some natives on the edges of this forest. He was also keen to keep the spray out of the water ways. For these reasons he decided to give the drone a go.
We came in at 50 litres of water per hectare and a 280 micron droplet. This is considerably lower than helicopter water rates but because of the different nature in which the heli and the drone operate it was not an issue.
The results have spoken for themselves. All regen pine, blackberry and other brushweeds have been killed. Because this spray had no glyphosate in it you can still see grass alive in the pictures and that is to be expected. Early next autumn we will come in with a “pre plant spray” containing glyphosate and this will prep the land for a new crop of pine trees.
In the future with our new V’40s these sort of jobs will be perfect. With the ability to operate more than one machine at once, their forward facing radar aiding contour flying, higher flow pumps and wider swath they will be a huge step up for this work.
