Bees vs drones: How tech is tackling crop pollination

Farmers from Australia to the UK are using drones to pollinate food crops like tomatoes, but can technology ever replace bees? — AFP

TWO WELLS, Australia/MERU NATIONAL PARK, Kenya: In towering glasshouses at a tomato farm in South Australia, everything from the temperature to the ultraviolet radiation levels is tightly controlled. But despite the farm’s scientific approach, pollinating the crops can still be hit or miss.

The Perfection Fresh farm in Two Wells currently relies on workers who zip between the rows of vines on trolleys, tapping strings tied to the frames to gently shake the plants so pollen drops onto the stigmas to ensure pollination – or so they hope.