WELLINGTON, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand researchers are using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as a burgeoning tool for pest control so as to provide a more efficient urban biosecurity solution.

As climate change increases the risk of invasive pests affecting New Zealand's multibillion-dollar primary sector, the government research institute Scion's Plant Protection Physics and Chemistry team lead Justin Nairn said on Tuesday using UAVs could be a new tool in the biosecurity toolbox making pest control "more targeted, safer and less invasive."

UAVs can fly closer to the target than a helicopter about 2m versus 10m-plus and have a smaller footprint and fly slower meaning they can be more precise, Nairn said.

The research came two years since the discovery of the fall armyworm in New Zealand in February 2022. The moth threatens crops in its larvae (caterpillar) stage, he said.

Nairn's initial studies in March 2021 into the general efficiency of spraying using UAVs used fluorescent dye to investigate how UAVs performed in aerial spray operations in urban environments.

Then in February last year, one year after fall armyworm's arrival, scientists trialed using a key bio-insecticide for combating Lepidoptera moths. The findings of this trial were being finalized but Nairn said using UAVs for pest control is growing quickly as operational limitations like cost, weight and flight time are reducing as technology advances.

Scion has been involved with pest incursion responses and field research in aerial spray methodology for decades looking for new, more targeted ways to tackle pest and insect outbreaks.

Better Border Biosecurity Director Desi Ramoo said Nairn's research was an example of adapting existing technology into an applied biosecurity tool. Enditem

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