Of the approximately 15,000 hectares of Swiss vineyards, 1,200 are treated by helicopter and nearly 300 by drones. The treatment by aerial means is a Swiss specificity unique in Europe. The appearance of drones in 2016 led to the establishment in 2019 of a rather permissive regulation which considers these devices as a means of terrestrial treatment, even if it is necessary to obtain an authorization from … the Federal Office of the civil aviation (OFAC). Pioneers in the sector criticize the laxity of this regulation.
Why it’s controversial. In Switzerland, the first request for authorization to use drones to spread phytosanitary products on the vines was made by Fly & Film in 2016. After tests in collaboration with Agroscope, the Valais company had to profoundly modify its treatment ramp to obtain more precision and above all homogeneity in the application of phytosanitary products. The flight height over crops was also very limited. However, the regulations adopted by the Confederation in 2019 allow dispersion from an altitude of 6 meters and therefore a greater drift (the proportion of products leaving the target area) than initially.
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