China drone attack on crop-eating ‘monster’ shows 98% kill rate

An armyworm, which usually comes out at night, is seen on corn crop at a village of Menghai county, in Yunnan province, China. — Reuters

An army of drones deployed to fight a crop-devouring pest in a southern area of China has recorded a mortality rate of as high as 98%, according to the manufacturer.

XAG, a Guangzhou-based drone maker, teamed up with Germany’s Bayer Crop Science in a drone swarm operation to kill the fall armyworm in China’s Guangxi region. The autonomous devices, loaded with low-toxicity insecticide, have also successfully managed the pests in a government-led operation in the southwest province of Yunnan, XAG said.