Parabug uses unmanned aerial vehicles "drones", for the rapid and timely dispersal of biologicals in outdoor crops. Parabug is a new patent-pending tool to bring about the greater use of augmentative biological control of agricultural pests.
Parabug allows the grower to choose whose beneficials they would like to use. Operators can either order the bugs or the grower can choose to provide them. All independent Parabug service providers follow applicable laws and regulations. All are certified by the FAA and are fully insured.
Parabug is as effective as traditional hand applications. With the added benefit of being able to access fields in wet conditions as well as being much more uniform than hand applications.
By company staff
Cost varies by region and service provider but in general, costs are in the range of $16-25 per acre for application.
Although different drone platforms have different flight times, the drone most commonly used by Parabug operators has a flight time of 25-45 minutes. Altitude and speed depend on the beneficials being applied and the crop that they are being applied to.
40 m/s - Typically Parabug is flown between 10-20 feet above the ground at a speed between 10-20 miles per hour.
Depending on the proximity between ranches and weather conditions, an operator can generally cover 300-500 acres in a day.
120-200ha/ day.
Demos, education and teaching local on-farm practices
By the company staff
Parabug has applied various beneficials on thousands of acres of various crops. This experience has provided a qualitative assessment that is equivalent to hand application in regards to efficacy.