Farm Manager Identifies Nematode Infestation Early with Aerobotics
Using Aerobotics’ Tree Insights, a farm manager detected unusual health variance across a block and suspected nematode infestation. High-resolution imagery revealed clear patterns of stress, and the Aeroview InField app guided him to the affected areas for sampling. Laboratory results confirmed the presence of nematodes, with 1,956 trees—30% of the orchard—impacted. With precise data on affected trees and their locations, the farm manager was able to act quickly, removing vulnerable trees and replanting with resistant rootstocks to safeguard future yields.
Crop Type: Apples, Golden Delicious
Location: Western Cape,South Africa
Managing apple orchard decline
The farm manager for a well-known exporting fruit farm in South Africa found that the yield and quality of a 30-year-old Golden Delicious apple orchard had been steadily declining over the past three years.
THE PROBLEM
Using Tree Insights, the farm manager detected health variance across the block as well as a clear pattern from his high resolution imagery. He selected the problem areas for an in-field investigation, as he suspected there might be a nematode infestation present.
The Aeroview InField mobile app guided him directly to these areas, where he sampled for nematodes and sent them to a laboratory for testing.
The results came back positive and the extent of the infestation seemed to be more severe than he initially anticipated.
THE SOLUTION
Tree Insights revealed the number of potentially affected trees, 1,956 out of a total 6,433
– or 30% of the orchard – as well as their exact locations.
To avoid an even greater yield loss, the farm manager decided to take out the affected trees
and plant a new cultivar set grafted onto rootstocks with a higher resistance to nematodes.
