Drone Pod Sealant Application
Protect Your Yield. Eliminate Crop Damage. Increase Harvest Flexibility.
As crops approach harvest, pod shatter causes significant losses. Our drone precision service applies sealants without trampling or soil compaction. Serving Wiltshire, Somerset, Gloucestershire, and across the South West.
Every Lost Pod Is Lost Yield
As crops approach harvest, pods become increasingly vulnerable to wind, rain, hail and delayed harvesting. Premature pod opening can result in significant seed losses before the combine enters the field.
Pod sealants help protect the crop during this critical period by reducing pod shatter and improving harvest flexibility.
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Introducing Pod-Stick
What is Pod-Stik?
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Pod-Stik is a specialist pod sealant developed by De Sangosse to help protect oilseed rape, field beans and combining peas during the critical period leading up to harvest.
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As crops mature, pods become increasingly vulnerable to pod shatter caused by wind, rain, hail, crop movement and delayed harvesting. Once pods open prematurely, valuable seed can be lost before the combine enters the field, reducing yield and creating volunteer crop issues in following seasons.
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Pod-Stik works by forming a thin, flexible polymer film across the surface of the pod. This protective layer remains elastic as the crop moves and responds to changing weather conditions, helping to reduce pod splitting and seed loss while maintaining harvest flexibility.
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Applied at the correct growth stage, Pod-Stik can help growers protect crop value already invested throughout the season, reduce volunteer populations and provide greater flexibility when harvest timing is affected by weather or operational demands.
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At Apex Agri Systems, we offer precision drone application of pod sealants, allowing crops to be treated without wheel damage, soil compaction or crop trampling associated with conventional ground-based application methods.
Why use a drone?
No Crop Damage
No Soil Compaction
Excellent Coverage
Rapid Deployment
Proven Results
Protecting yield is the primary objective of any pod sealant application. As oilseed rape, field beans and combining peas approach harvest, crops become increasingly vulnerable to pod shatter caused by wind, rain, hail and natural crop movement. Once pods begin to split, valuable seed can be lost before harvest even begins.
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De Sangosse Pod-Stik has been used commercially for many years and has been extensively evaluated across a wide range of crop types and growing conditions. Results from over 90 oilseed rape field trials conducted between 2007 and 2023 demonstrated an average yield benefit of 0.32 tonnes per hectare when compared with untreated crops. In addition to protecting yield, trials have also shown significant reductions in volunteer oilseed rape populations following harvest, helping to reduce management costs in subsequent crops.
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Recent UK drone application trials have further demonstrated the suitability of pod sealants for aerial application. These trials assessed coverage across different water volumes and application methods, with results indicating that drone application can achieve excellent canopy coverage whilst completely eliminating crop damage associated with ground-based sprayers.
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For growers, the benefit is simple. By protecting the crop during its most vulnerable stage and removing the need to drive machinery through standing crops, pod sealant application by drone provides an effective method of safeguarding yield whilst maintaining maximum harvest flexibility.
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Whether conditions remain favourable or harvest is delayed by weather, protecting the crop before harvest can help preserve both yield and crop value already invested throughout the season.