LONDON, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The Imperial College London said on Friday that researchers are testing the use of drones in keeping an eye on the overall health of coffee plants in Thailand so that the spread of disease can be stopped once spotted.
Fungal disease known as coffee rust can be devastating to coffee plant and can even wipe out vast swathes of crops or even entire plantations.
The team led by Dr Oliver Windram from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London is trying to find a more efficient way to prevent that happen with drones.
With the help of drones, farmers can more easily spot if the disease has started to affect their crops, they then can remove the affected plants to prevent it spreading further, according to the College. This method would also allow them to control disease without chemical fungicides.
"The benefit of using drones is that they are non-invasive and do not damage the product, but also they are able to get a much more comprehensive view from the air than any farmer can from the ground," said Dr Windram.
"We hope the drones will be able to spot the disease early enough before it decimates the crop,"said Dr Windram.
