Bees and cutting-edge technology are rarely mentioned in the same breath, let alone found under the same roof. But that could change, thanks to a new step in the evolving world of agricultural drone technology.

In the fall of 2022, Bee Vectoring Technologies (BVT) International, a company with roots at the University of Guelph, announced a partnership with Missouri-based Agri Spray Drones, which operates heavy drones in custom applications. The companies said they were coming together to trial the drone application of BVT’s proprietary Clonostachys rosea CR-7 biological fungicide on large-acre field crops such as soybeans, corn, alfalfa and canola.

In North America, drone regulatory approval is advancing slower than drone technology development. Nonetheless, the BVT-Agri Spray partnership underlines how imaginative and mutually beneficial industry collaborations can work in producers’ favour. It also shows the ripple effect of good research.

Here’s why. BVT is at the forefront of apivectoring, a crop protection system that uses bees from managed hives as a transport mechanism for biological agents that suppress pests on crops. The technology goes back to the 1980s, when Guelph environmental biologists Peter Kevan and John Sutton were looking for novel ways to deliver biological fungicides to plants.

The researchers knew pollinating and flower-visiting insects can carry and spread disease. So, they figured that maybe insects could also be employed to prevent disease by distributing natural fungicides instead. Their design for a distribution system was refined by BVT Inc. after the company acquired the rights in 2012 to develop it into a commercial product.

Seven years later, BVT’s CR-7 was the first agent to be approved in the U.S. for a commercial food crop protection product applied to flowering crops by live bees.

And now BVT is broadening its horizon and joining the drone movement. In a news release, BVT CEO Ashish Malik says the company has been working on delivery methods other than bees, including foliar, soil-applied, seed treatment and now drone applications.

“This exciting development is part of our overall strategy to maximize the utility of our core patented asset, CR-7, and expand its application into non-pollinated crops, providing farmers an additional sustainable tool to control pathogens and improve yields,” he says.

Bee-based distribution pushes so many of the right buttons. It provides what research pioneer Kevan calls “a double benefit to agriculture” – that is, crop pollination and crop protection acting together to increase yields and quality. And it’s hard to argue with the wholesome image of bees going about their business and delivering biologicals in such a highly targeted manner.  

But for large-scale applications of non-pollinated crops, drones address some ongoing challenges for producers.  

As BVT points out, drones are fast and non-invasive. They can access fields in wet conditions where ground tractors can't go. They can fly just above the canopy, minimizing overspray or drift. They help address labour shortages. All these are huge management issues.

And despite regulatory caution, drones are catching on. BVT says the global agricultural drone market, valued at more than US $1.3 billion just three years ago, is expected to reach US $10.5 billion by 2028. As it grows, companies such as Agri Spray will be looking to carve a niche. That’s something it says BVT provides in spades with CR-7.

"We are very excited to trial [BVT’s] biological fungicide CR-7 via our new T40 drone because of its ability to control pathogens in multiple crops on its own or in tandem with conventional pest and disease control programs,” says Agri Spray sales manager Alex Bennett. “The capability to deliver this via drone to help farmers fight a broad spectrum of diseases and stimulate plant growth, resulting in greater crop yields is a winning combination."

Guelph’s Kevan is enthused about the potential for this technology. He says he and Sutton anticipated developments of some sort would follow their groundbreaking work. Of course, neither of them predicted a connection with drones, which were still other worldly some 40 years ago when their research began.

Today though, Kevan calls BVT's interest in drone technology “a door that is well worthwhile opening.

“As a guess, I think it might have more potential than pollination by spraying, which requires having viable pollen to spray,” he says. “There is a lot that needs to be done by way of research and development for pollen harvesting and viability."

BVT has applied for Canadian registration for CR-7 and is waiting for review.