Aviation rules covering drones should be relaxed to allow farmers to use them to precision bomb weeds from the air, ministers have been told today.
The Conservative Environment Network said that regulations that mean unmanned flying vehicles have to stay within direct 'line of sight' of the pilot on the ground should be eased to help prevent crop damage.
In a report backed by 27 MPs today it said that changing the 'burdensome' health and safety rules in unpopulated areas would allow more targeted pesticide use, reducing the amount of harmful chemicals required.
It would also help farmers to monitor crops remotely, with a knock on boost to yields and reduce waste from problems not spotted in time in faraway or hard-to-access fields.