Hettermillen (Luxembourg) (AFP)

A drone to spray fungicides on the vines: Luxembourg's Corinne Kox, whose family has been growing grapes since the beginning of the last century, is one of the forerunners in Europe of this technique.

She is keen on new technologies, and the young woman, who is gradually taking over her father's business, a ten-hectare estate in the Moselle valley of Luxembourg, started her trials in mid-July on a plot of 40 ares.

To prevent the arrival of mushrooms on the vines, she uses a mixture of sulfur and copper.

"Without treatment, no grapes," assures AFP the viticulturist met in Hettermillen (east), under a morning sun.

But rather than a tractor or a helicopter, she chose a drone for spreading.

"With a tractor, it's still dangerous sometimes to pass right after the rain, because it slips," said Ms. Kox. On steep vineyards, the drone reduces the risk of accidents.

Spraying by drone, particularly manageable and precise, has been used in Californian vineyards for years. In Europe, it has been in Switzerland for about three years and in Germany since 2018.

In France, on the other hand, the method is not possible. "All agricultural aerial treatments are prohibited, but the drone is classified as air treatment," said Robert Verger, wine manager of the FNSEA, the first French agricultural union.

In Luxembourg, the slope of the vineyards plays in favor of aerial spreading. "It is the highest in the EU, with over 30%," says Erwan Nonet, editor of a magazine specializing in viticulture in the Grand Duchy.

- Like a swarm of insects -

Overlooking the village of Hettermillen, the Kox estate stretches along lush hillsides, where vines have been cultivated for 2000 years.

Born in 1919, Corinne's grandfather, François, created a grape production company on the estate and his father, Laurent, made it a vineyard in 1977.

Kox produces white wines from Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois and Gewurztraminer, as well as some crémants and red wines.

Above the vines, the drone, with a wingspan of nearly 1m50, generates a slight noise reminiscent of a swarm of insects.

Nothing to do with the Hitchcock movie plane "Killing the Pooh" which drops large-scale pesticides on Cary Grant, hidden in a cornfield.

The drone of Corinne Kox flies between 1 meter and 1.50 meters above the vines, with a great precision in the spreading.

A pilot-instructor watches over the course? predefined or guided by his care - the craft from the edge of the plot.

The device has a range of 5 to 6 minutes and can carry up to 10 liters of products.

This requires the regular return of the machine to its point of refueling where its tanks are refilled with fungicide and its batteries changed.

According to Robert Verger, the application of phytosanitary products by drone, practiced on vegetable crops in Asia and Africa, is safer for the farmer because "he is not in contact with the product".

- Private jets to agricultural drones -

Ms. Kox's aircraft, as well as the equipment and the pilot, are provided by Luxaviation, a company established in Luxembourg in 2008, the leading business aviation operator in Europe and the second largest in the world, with a fleet of 260 aircraft and helicopters.

Luxaviation is now diversifying into agricultural drones, a market where the Swiss company Agrofly has already set up.

"There are other winemakers who are interested," says Christophe Lapierre, director of Luxaviation Drones.

Discussions are already underway in South Africa and Australia, in particular, according to him.

The drone with its accessories is worth 40,000 dollars (about 36,000 euros).

Ms. Kox did not buy the aircraft, but simply pays the price for the service to Luxaviation, which is currently higher than for a helicopter application.

"The idea is still to reduce costs to arrive at the cost of the helicopter," she says, without specifying further.

However, it seems conquered: "next year, we would like to increase the number of plots (?) In a few years to be able to fly over the entire Moselle Luxembourg."

© 2019 AFP