31July 2020.

Introduction:

Haryana forest department has used drone technology to shower seeds in the hard to access region to improve green cover in the Aravalli area of Faridabad. Seeding drone has been  designed by an IIT-Kanpur backed startup.  

Highlights:

• These special drones help to shower seeds in areas of Aravallis that are hard to access or are completely inaccessible.
•  The drones are used as the traditional methods of plantation in some areas of Aravallis are difficult.
• The project in Haryana is being taken up on a pilot basis in order to regenerate low vegetation density sites which are hard to access.
• The pilot project is being implemented on 100 acres of land to check the efficacy of seed dispersal mechanism.
• Earlier in July, a similar project was undertaken in Yamunanagar and Mahendragarh districts of Haryana.
•  The project will provide employment opportunities to the local community as they can prepare seed balls. 
• Acacia senegal (Khairi), Ziziphus mauritiana (Beri), and Holarrhena spp (Inderjo) are some of the seeds that will be planted in the Aravallis. These species of seeds have a higher chance of survival in these areas.
• The drone is capable of carrying 2-kg of seeds in a single sortie. The drone is equipped with a ‘precise delivery mechanism’ to shower seeds of different sizes at a predetermined time interval.
• A single drone is capable of planting 20,000 to 30,000 seeds a day. Five hectares area in Badkhal area of Faridabad will be targetted under phase 1 of the plantation.
• Seed germination in this manner does not require attention once they fall on the ground and this type of plantation is also referred to as “Fire and Forget”.