OSR pod sealant by drone
The problem with conventional pod sealant is the wheelings. East Yorkshire growers have estimated around 5% wheel loss from sprayer passes through tall OSR — at £350 a tonne on a 4 t/ha crop, that's a hidden £70 per hectare disappearing under the tyres.
A drone solves it. The first commercial drone pod sealant trial in the UK was carried out on Andrew Manfield's farm in East Yorkshire and presented at Cereals 2025.
How it works
- No tyres on the crop. The drone sprays the canopy from above with the XAG P100 Pro at around 10 to 15 hectares an hour.
- Pod-Stik and Pod-Lock are non-regulated polymers — not plant protection products — so this sits inside the standard CAA Operational Authorisation. It is not a pesticide-permit case.
The economics
It comes down to avoided wheel loss versus drone application cost. On a 4 t/ha OSR crop at £350/t, saving 5% wheel loss is worth around £70/ha. Drone application is priced per job — based on your acreage, access and timing. Tell us about your crop and we'll come back with a firm number.
Common questions
Can a drone fly in wind? The pilot decides on the day. Drone application has practical limits (typically up to around 6 m/s) — the same forecasts that limit a sprayer limit a drone.
What if the weather closes in? The pilot reschedules. You don't pay for jobs that don't fly.
Thinking of buying a drone with FETF? The 2026 grant gives £14,476 towards a farm drone — and because pod sealant is a non-regulated polymer, it's one of the services FETF405 actually funds for. But the break-even versus hiring still sits at 600+ hectares a year. Read the honest guide →