It is a striking sight: a drone flying above a greenhouse to sprays a pesticide on the roof which, after some rain, will take the coating off.
Dutch nursery de Westlandse Aardbei was introduced to the drone. Several other growers in Westland will also be visited, shares Matthijs Quartel of Quality Drone Coating (QDC). This new company is the result of a cooperation between Klaas Quartel and Dutch Drone Company.
Practical tests
QDC was set up to develop drone spraying of coatings and detergents. "This season we can gain experience for both coating and cleaning," says Quartel. These are the first practical test for taking coatings off by means of a drone.
At the Westland strawberry grower, the drone flew around to spray the coating, Redusol, with ReduClean. "We expect to be able to spray all available coatings with the drone, but we have not yet gained experience with all of them," he said.
An alternative for manual application
Drone spraying is the intended replacement for manual application of coatings. Contractors also apply coatings and cleaners by machine. "Both qualitatively and quantitatively, it is not comparable to machine application of coatings or detergents," he says.QDC was established to apply coatings by means of drones. The company intends to make their services available to all contract sprayers.
For all contract spraying companies
It is not yet that far. First, practical experience is gained with the tests. "We are not fully operational yet. Everything is new in this world, not only in terms of implementation but especially in terms of legislation. It is therefore not so easy to predict which way this will go or what the near future looks like."
The first experiences are positive. "It looks good so far." QDC hopes to carry out many flights for contractor Klaas Quartel and other companies.
A video from Nursery the Westland Strawberry shows how it works. The water is collected, filtered, and reused by the strawberry growers.
For more information:
Matthijs Quartel
Quality Drone Coating
[email protected]
www.qdc.works