The invention of using an aeroplane to spread chemicals is attributed to the German forester Alfred Zimmermann, who in 1911 applied for a patent for this method. However, an earlier case of agricultural work from the air had already been recorded: in 1906, in New Zealand, seeds were sown by dropping grain from a hot-air balloon. The use of a heavier-than-air flying machine (aerodyne) for agricultural aviation purposes took place in Reno, USA, at the turn of 1918/1919.
The first recorded case of pesticide spraying from an aeroplane was the dusting of catalpa trees in Ohio in August 1921, which took place on the initiative of the government and the United States Army. The aeroplane used was a Curtiss JN-6. Over the next two decades, the use of aircraft in agriculture gradually expanded. In 1922, aerial spraying trials were conducted in the USSR, and a few years later, U-1 (Avro 504) aircraft were used on a large scale to combat locusts in the northern Caucasus. Locusts were also fought from the air in the Philippines in 1924. In the 1930s, aircraft were also used for sowing in the USSR. In the 1920s, aircraft were also used to combat pests in Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain and France, while in New Zealand attempts were made to spread artificial fertilisers from an aeroplane. Aircraft also began to be used for fighting forest fires.
As a result of promising trials, the first organised agricultural aviation enterprises were established. The very first attempt in the USA was carried out by a public state institution in cooperation with the military. In 1923, influenced by the Ohio experience, the first private agricultural aviation company was founded – Huff Daland Dusters. Over time, this company expanded its services to include mail and passenger transport; initially there were no separate passenger aircraft, and a seat for 1 passenger was placed in… the chemical tank. Such were the modest beginnings of one of the largest American airlines – Delta Air Lines. In the USSR, the first agricultural aviation enterprise was established in 1930 and later incorporated into the Aeroflot structure.
Among the brilliant inventions of the recent epoch, the aeroplane has taken one of the first places, and the limits of its applicability as a factor in the development of culture have not yet been reached. — Jadwiga Pitulanka*
