A New Approach, Drone Application

Earlier this month we set out to try something out that we have never tried before with any of our customer. For 20+ years, on a farm in Gilbert, Arizona, we have not been able to control the weeds in our Silage Corn crop for one big reason… The farm is land locked by homes, schools, medical centers and shopping centers. So aerial application was out of the question. And when the corn grew taller, ground application was also not the solution.

Fast forward to this year we got into contact with Parker Mejia with AZAgFlyers, a family owned and operated Drone Application company. Once we let him know what the problem was, he was quick to let us know that there would be no problem getting in there and applying herbicide, legally.

The main problem on the farm was the borders in every field, they have been inundated with Johnsongrass, Pigweed / Ragweed as well as Ground Cherry. Year after year, no matter the herbicide program we had in place, the weeds constantly reseeded the field with millions of seeds every season. Without a doubt, our yield was feeling the pressure from these weeds.

Parker Mejia got the material for the spray job and got to work on the 150+ borders on the farm. (The drone sprayed 10-food swath over the borders) After a couple of days, the spray job was finished, and we waited.

Very soon, we started to see some promising results, nearly all weeds in the borders were starting to die and within a week the weeds were essentially killed. For reference, the weed pressure in these borders were thicker than the corn field itself, making it impossible to even walk through it. After the Drone application, you could see to the other end of the field through the border.

Now that the corn has partially canopied over the borders, the weeds will not be able to come back anywhere near what they used to be. Being a month out from harvest, the weeds don’t have the time necessary to cause any issues, making it easier to control the weed population in the future. All parties involved were very happy with the results.

C & C Ag truly believe that this new way of spraying is a valuable tool to have in our pocket as homes begin to encroach closer and closer to your fields. Now, rather than give up on controlling weeds, bugs and diseases, we can have an effective answer that is safe for the farm, as well as our new neighbors.

For more information on AZAGFlyers, contact Parker Mejia, contact information can be found in the ‘Services’ tab on our website.

Matthew Colville / C & C Agriculture Services - 06/12/2024