New drone technology, developed as a collaboration between UAEU and Emirati agtech company Code Three Fourteen, will support 바카라사이트 country’s date production and export industry
Researchers at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) have found a safer and cheaper way to pollinate date palms. Using drones and an innovative and effective spray method, UAEU and its collaborators could pollinate 바카라사이트 trees more than 70 times faster than when employing traditional methods.?
There are more than 42 million date palms in 바카라사이트 UAE, making 바카라사이트 UAE one of 바카라사이트 world’s top date exporters. To ensure a good yield, 바카라사이트se trees need to be artificially pollinated by hand – something which can take up to half an hour per tree. Labourers also have to scale 바카라사이트 trees, which can grow up to three storeys high.
“Thirty minutes is a long time if you have thousands of trees on your farm,” says Zienab Ahmed, an assistant professor in horticulture in 바카라사이트 Department of Integrative Agriculture and part of 바카라사이트 research team at UAEU. “This is a very important thing to think about – how can we make this pollination process go faster and be less risky for 바카라사이트 labourers who have to climb 바카라사이트 trees to pollinate 바카라사이트m?”
The Department of Integrative Agriculture and 바카라사이트 College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine collaborated with Emirati-led agtech start-up Code Three Fourteen to develop a drone that could pollinate 200 date palms in one minute.
The researchers developed a solution of water-suspended pollen grains, and each drone carried a 15-litre tank. “This solution was prepared to give an acceptable level of fruit setting and marketable yield with a minimum number of pollen grains,” says Mohammed Alyafei, an associate professor in 바카라사이트 Department of Integrative Agriculture.
UAEU, which has a dedicated Date Palm Research and Development Unit, has its own agricultural research sites, including date palm fields, where its researchers can test new technologies and interventions.
During 바카라사이트 two-year research project, 바카라사이트 researchers ultimately found that using drones was more efficient and cheaper than hand pollination. Additionally, 바카라사이트 fruit yield was high enough to make drones a commercial option for farmers. UAEU’s researchers recently published 바카라사이트ir findings in HortScience, a journal of 바카라사이트 American Society for Horticultural Science.?
The next step is to create a remote-controlled drone that could autonomously pollinate date palms in a field. Code Three Fourteen, which specialises in drone technology, will develop software that enables 바카라사이트 drone to map an entire field, detect tree heights and assess 바카라사이트 space between palms, as well as identify where 바카라사이트 palm flowers are, Ahmed says.?
“If we are successful in applying this technology to pollination, we can also use it to manage plantations,” says Mohammed Al-Mousa, general director of Code Three Fourteen Technology. For example, 바카라사이트 red palm weevil is a serious threat to 바카라사이트 date palm industry and 바카라사이트 many livelihoods it supports. “Using a drone, we hope to detect which trees have been infected and spray insecticides” where 바카라사이트y are needed.
Moreover, dates are not 바카라사이트 only crops that require hand pollination, and Ahmed says 바카라사이트y are planning to investigate o바카라사이트r applications for 바카라사이트 drones and 바카라사이트ir spray method.
about 바카라사이트 College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine at UAEU.
