Agricultural Drone Case Studies
Drones drop tree seeds to protect reservoir.
(BBC News, 4th December 2025).
Our colleagues from AutoSpray Systems were engaged to use aerial drones to distribute tree seeds in the Scottish Borders in a bid to protect water quality at Talla Reservoir near Tweedsmuir, which is a key water source for the city of Edinburgh. The project involved more than two million native tree seeds being sown across "inaccessible upland areas". It is hoped they can stabilise the soil so that less organic matter is washed into the water during periods of extreme rainfall which, in turn, will make the treatment process simpler and less energy intensive.
It is part of a wider 200-acre (80-hectare) woodland creation scheme on land around the reservoir. The first phase has focused on a 50-acre area where Scottish water hopes to enrich existing woodland. It could additionally see thousands of native broadleaves like aspen, rowan, oak, alder and downy birch planted at the site.
Woodland creation programme manager at Scottish Water, Stephen Garbett, said: "This is a completely innovative approach to woodland creation. The nature of the landscape here means that traditional methods of tree-planting would be extremely difficult and time-consuming to carry out, so to be able to harness this drone technology to effectively open up areas of the site like this is great. We are looking forward to seeing the results now that the first phase of drone seeding has been completed."
The Scottish government's climate action secretary, Gillian Martin, said she welcomed the initiative to help "increase local biodiversity, whilst creating a natural way to reduce flooding in the area".
Aerial Drones inter-sowing stubble turnips over standing wheat proves to be an outstanding success.
Fellow drone operator, Frazer Bloor from Aerial Applications in Cheshire checked progress of a stubble turnip cover crop inter-sown over wheat. The drone was able to sow seeds 4 weeks before tractors (2 weeks before wheat harvest); the resultant growth advantage was clear to see. Compare the size of the large turnip sown by Drone to the small turnip being held up that was sown by tractor. Time is of the essence in farming and this is where drones can really help by getting the seeds sown early. The farmer involved said "its unbelievable, anyone can come and have a look, terrific!" [November 2025]