ARS is rebooting an old farming technique to fight the navel orangeworm

An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist in California is developing a new use for a tool that farmers have had in their kit for over 100 years — aircraft.

Heavier-than-air flying machines have aided agriculture since USDA first teamed with the U.S. Army Signal Corps on Aug. 3, 1921, to spray for catalpa sphinx caterpillars near Troy, OH. Since then, “crop dusters” have helped farmers lay seed, fight pests, spread fertilizer, fight fires, and more. Even drones have gotten into the act.

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