Drone Spraying for Alfalfa in California

Alfalfa treatments run between cuttings: insecticide for alfalfa weevil, aphid, and leafhopper; fungicide where needed; and herbicide for weed control. The window is the regrowth period after each cutting, so the field is short and the spray must go down fast before the next cut.

Drone application flies the pest pass right after a cutting when the canopy is short and coverage is even — and it flies when the field is too wet for a rig, which is common on irrigated alfalfa.

Alfalfa is cut on a fixed schedule, so the spray window is short; a drone flies the pass the day after cutting without waiting for the ground to firm up.

Aerial seeding of new stands works on wet ground a rig can't travel, with no compaction on the shallow root zone.

Virelo flies alfalfa fields across the San Joaquin Valley, timing pest and foliar passes to the regrowth window after each cutting. Our pilots coordinate with your PCA to time weevil and aphid treatments to the short canopy stage, and our GPS-guided flights apply a controlled volume per acre across the field with even coverage.

On irrigated alfalfa ground, a drone flies when the field is too wet for a rig, which is often the day after a cutting when the pest pass is most effective. Aerial seeding of new stands and cover crops also works on wet ground a rig cannot travel, with zero compaction on the shallow root zone that makes alfalfa so sensitive to soil disturbance.