Pollination with drones: A successful response to the decline of entomophiles pollinators?

Abstract

Some types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UDs) are called drones. These equipment’s of wide versatility have been applied very recently for different tasks, among which is agriculture. From there, this technology is responding to the decline of biopolynizers in different fields around the world. The objective of this work was to analyze the implications of the use of such devices in agricultural practices in the absence of entomophiles pollinators. Methodologically it was developed as a bibliographic review, consulting databases such as Scopus, Science Direct, Google academic and others; filtering by keywords, selecting the works according to the subject of interest and the criteria of the authors. Key information from the selected documents was extracted through the documentary analysis. As a result of this review, experiences related to the application of USNs in crop fertilization were found; the literature consulted also agrees to point out that drones are a viable strategy for such activity and is at the same time a solution to the diminution of entomophiles pollinators in certain regions of the Earth. However, the reference literature, very little reports possible adverse effects, which from an ecological point of view could arise from the use of USRs in agri-food production. It is concluded that further research is needed to understand the ecological consequences that may arise from the use of the equipment.