Vegetable growers are increasingly turning to an integrated pest management approach to combat pests. This approach uses cultural, biological and chemical methods to control pests, including the use of beneficial insects as natural pest predators.

A trial in northern Queensland examined the effectiveness, efficiency and practicality of using drones versus hand release methods to distribute beneficial insects in vegetable crops.

The results showed that despite higher initial costs, the long-term benefits in pest control efficiency and effectiveness made drones a promising technology for modern agricultural pest management.

However, further research is required and practical considerations such as drone technology availability and cost constraints should be evaluated by individual growers before implementation.