Mechanical bees fill in for insects in pear farming

Pear blossoms are in full bloom in the Bayingol Mongolian autonomous prefecture of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and farmers have begun using drones for pollination of the blossoms.

Due to a variety of environmental factors, the bee population has been on the decline, so drones help fill in the gap. They also considerably improve efficiency by relieving farmers from the burden of using sprays to pollinate flowers. At the same time, the drones also aid in preventing the spread of plant diseases.

According to experts from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, a single drone can pollinate an orchard of 2.7 hectares in one hour. Pollination by drone significantly increases the yield of pears per hectare.