App Links Chinese Farmers With Pesticide-Dropping Drones

Chinese farmers can now order drone-sprayed pesticides and fertilizers via a smartphone app.

Beijing Nongtian Guanjia Technology Co., Ltd., founded last year, said it’s the first in China to use the technology to link farmers with individual operators of agricultural drones.

Most farms in China are small and tended by individual farmers, or are part of a collective, where farmers still manage the plot they were allotted.

Unlike in the U.S., small planes are rarely used to apply aerial pesticides or fertilizer on most Chinese farms. More typically, farmers strap tanks on their backs and apply chemicals by hand. ...