Dropcopter and Partner Beak & Skiff Apple Orchard, showcase autonomous pollination of apples in U.S.
GENIUS NY team Dropcopter and its partner Beak & Skiff Apple Orchard, showcased the first ever autonomous pollination of apples in the country. Dropcopter, which uses a drone to pollinate tree crops, successfully demonstrated its Worker-Bee pollinator at the at the 800-acre orchard, which is home to more than 350,000 trees, in Lafayette, New York.
Each year 400 hives of bees help pollinate Beak & Skiff’s crops. Pollination is essential to food production with one-third of all food crops worldwide relying on pollination. The potential to have drones supplement the pollination performed by bees offers the ability to distribute precise amounts of pollen 5 to 10’ above tree canopy and provide back up support to Mother Nature.
New York state is the second largest apple growing state in the country and Beak & Skiff is one of the most popular producers in Central New York, having been named the #1 orchard in the nation for two consecutive years.
