NEW ZEALAND-FUNGI-COLOR

NEW ZEALAND-FUNGI-COLOR

(220520) -- WELLINGTON, May 20, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Photo shows the Entoloma hochstetteri in a temperate rainforest on the South Island of New Zealand, May 1, 2022. The fruiting body of the sky blue mushroom is usually found among moss, ferns or fallen leaves and the cap grows up to around 2 to 5 centi-meters in diameter. (Photo by Yang Liu/Xinhua)

NEW ZEALAND-FUNGI-COLOR

NEW ZEALAND-FUNGI-COLOR

(220520) -- WELLINGTON, May 20, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Photo shows the Entoloma hochstetteri in a temperate rainforest on the South Island of New Zealand, May 5, 2022. The fruiting body of the sky blue mushroom is usually found among moss, ferns or fallen leaves and the cap grows up to around 2 to 5 centi-meters in diameter. (Photo by Yang Liu/Xinhua)

NEW ZEALAND-FUNGI-COLOR

NEW ZEALAND-FUNGI-COLOR

(220520) -- WELLINGTON, May 20, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Photo shows the Entoloma hochstetteri in a temperate rainforest on the South Island of New Zealand, May 1, 2022. The fruiting body of the sky blue mushroom is usually found among moss, ferns or fallen leaves and the cap grows up to around 2 to 5 centi-meters in diameter. (Photo by Yang Liu/Xinhua)

NEW ZEALAND-FUNGI-COLOR

NEW ZEALAND-FUNGI-COLOR

(220520) -- WELLINGTON, May 20, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Photo shows the Entoloma hochstetteri in a temperate rainforest on the South Island of New Zealand, April 6, 2022. The fruiting body of the sky blue mushroom is usually found among moss, ferns or fallen leaves and the cap grows up to around 2 to 5 centi-meters in diameter. (Photo by Yang Liu/Xinhua)

Apple pollination using Toko Ironworks' drone

Apple pollination using Toko Ironworks' drone

Toko Ironworks (Odate City, Akita Prefecture) has begun marketing apple pollination work using flying robots (drones) to fruit farmers. Apple trees are tall and bear a large number of fruit, making pollination work hard work. The drone will make the work easier and shorten the working hours. A demonstration experiment is being conducted in collaboration with Aomori Prefectural Nagui Agricultural High School, and Yoaki Torigata, director of the company, says, "We are on the verge of solving the main problem," and plans to market the system, including rental. In the demonstration experiment so far, a fruiting rate of 40-50% was obtained when the drone was used. A solution of pollen mixed with distilled water, sugar, and safflower pigment is placed in a tank, and a drone is flown near the flowers to spray them. The downwash airflow caused by the drone's propeller atomizes the solution and applies it evenly. Photo taken on August 20, 2019,credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images