Practical test in Pyhra

Drone flight in the fight against pest infestation

Drones are an essential part of digital agriculture and forestry(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

Sustainable and effective: the new agricultural drones are currently undergoing a tough practical test at the agricultural college in Pyhra in the district of St. Pölten.

Conservation of natural resources and effective pest detection thanks to digital precision - the areas of application for agricultural drones are becoming increasingly diverse. The flying helpers have also become much faster and more efficient in recent years. "Drones are now an essential part of digital agriculture and forestry," confirms specialist teacher Bernhardt Obermayer-Böhm, digitalization expert at Pyhra Technical College.

Agricultural drones are used at the Pyhra technical college.(Bild: BMI)

Praising drones: Director Josef Sieder with Obermayer-Böhm, Teschl-Hofmeister and pilot Marek Kubica (right).(Bild: Jürgen Mück)

Smart farming" enables plant diseases or weed growth in the fields to be precisely determined and countermeasures to be taken quickly. Fertilizers, pesticides and water are now only applied where they are actually needed.

In addition, intelligent field analysis from the air allows plant development to be monitored in real time. This can then be used to determine the optimum harvest time. "Digital precision makes agriculture more sustainable and more precise," explains Provincial Councillor Christiane Teschl-Hofmeister.

The next generation of agricultural drones is already undergoing practical testing at the technical college in Pyhra. Due to the high temperatures, a bark beetle infestation is expected this year. For Teschl-Hofmeister, the drones are providing valuable services in forestry this spring for pest detection. So-called multispectral drones are being used here for early detection.