Filipa Pato completes first year without copper in the vineyards
In 2026, the Bairrada estate relied on plant-derived treatments during the period of greatest mildew pressure, applying them by drone from early May to late June.
Filipa Pato and William Wouters completed their first year without using copper for vineyard protection in 2026. From early May to late June, when mildew pressure is high, the Bairrada estate applied plant-derived preparations by drone, including horsetail and willow teas and some essential oils. According to Filipa Pato, these treatments proved effective; in previous years, copper products had to be applied with backpack sprayers.1
The drone allows the estate to treat vineyards every week, compared with roughly every 2 weeks previously. It also avoids soil compaction in parcels otherwise accessible by tractor and reduces the manual work required in old vineyards that cannot be mechanised.1
Drone use and restrictions
The source reports that EU rules do not allow drones to spray agrochemicals because of concerns about spray drift, including organic and biodynamic fungicides based on elemental sulphur or copper. The estate therefore uses its drone for plant-derived products. It originally acquired the 22-litre DJI agricultural drone for old, non-mechanisable vineyards, while also using it for the first 2 treatments in mechanisable parcels.1
Sources
Written by the Dionysus editors from the sources above.
