On the steep terraces of Pelješac, the rocky ground of Brač or the fragmented plots of the Neretva valley, every canister of water and every sack of fertiliser is carried by hand, often half an hour on foot to reach the rows. A drone does not change agronomy, but it changes logistics: the load you carry on your back can fly instead. This article explains what is legal and useful from the air today, and what is still not permitted, without exaggeration and without false promises.
What a drone legally does from the air today
Most of what people call “watering from the air” is really applying liquid nutrients and water to the leaf or soil, using materials that are not pesticides. That is permitted and practical:
- Foliar feeding with fertilisers and micronutrients directly onto the leaf, evenly along the row.
- Biostimulants (for example amino acids, seaweed extracts, humic substances) to support plants under stress.
- Spreading of permitted materials such as granular fertilisers or soil improvers.
- Targeted watering of young plants and accessible points where a hose cannot reach.
On top of that, the drone is strongest at what it already does without dripping or spraying: mapping and NDVI monitoring show where the crop is under stress, so you direct the feeding exactly where it is needed rather than across the whole plot.
Why this makes sense on difficult terrain
On terraced vineyards and olive groves above the sea, the main cost is not the material itself but human labour and access. A drone flies row by row, without compacting the soil, without carrying canisters up drystone walls and without the risk of a fall on a slope. For plots that are hard to walk in summer, this is often the only sensible way to feed the crop on time. We write more about access to such groves on the difficult terrain page.
What is still NOT permitted: pesticide spraying
Here we must be completely clear. Spraying pesticides by drone is currently not permitted in Croatia and the EU. A drone that sprays is legally treated as an aircraft, and aerial application of plant protection products is prohibited under the Act on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (NN 32/20) and Directive 2009/128/EC. In addition, no product registered in Croatia has approval for aerial application.
That is why we do not offer or promise crop protection by aerial spraying, regardless of what you may read elsewhere. There is an announced EU-level reform (the so-called omnibus package, 2025/2026) that might open room for precise drone application, but for now this is uncertain and not in force. If this possibility interests you, you can register your interest in advance and we will notify you as soon as the rules change. We cover the legal framework in more detail on the drone spraying page.
What a field visit looks like
Every flight follows the Croatian CAA rules and requires a registered operator, so part of the preparation concerns permits and safety, not only agronomy. In practice a visit looks like this:
- a short survey of the plot and, if needed, quick mapping to see the state of the crop;
- agreeing on the material (fertiliser, biostimulant or spreading product) that you supply or we source together;
- flying along the rows with even distribution;
- a short report on the area treated.
What it costs
Prices are indicative and depend on terrain and access:
- Foliar feeding from 45 €/ha, and on terraced terrain from 65 €/ha.
- Mapping from 20 €/ha; NDVI monitoring from 30 €/ha.
- Half-day visit from 450 €, full day from 850 €.
- Minimum charge 120 € (free above 3 ha), plus 0.80 €/km for distances over 30 km.
The full price list and all services are available on the pricing page, and for fruit and citrus see orchards and citrus.
Conclusion
A drone today does not replace an agronomist and does not spray crop protection, but it really does replace the hardest manual part of feeding and watering on terrain where a person can barely pass. If you have a grove on Hvar, Korčula, Šolta or anywhere every canister is carried by hand, get in touch and we will arrange a visit and assessment.