Up in the air

Drones have long captured the attention of tech early adopters. But on farms, they’ve largely been used for observation of land or stock - until now.

An aerial crop-spraying machine for farm fields is the first large electrical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft approved for commercial use in the U.S.

Guardian Agriculture has been given the green light by the Federal Aviation Administration to operate, and with commercial farmers moving away from tractor sprayers, autonomous aerial systems are a popular alternative. With a 20L payload, these hefty drones cover substantial acreage all without causing damage to crops, unlike tractor spraying.

Will this open the door for other drone start-ups? Could this authorisation open up possibilities for other drone-powered agritech applications?