Harrisons Malayalam Limited has completed trials of a payload drone designed to move freshly harvested green leaf at its Lockhart Estate. The pilot project focuses on carrying leaf from tea fields to weighment centres and onward to the factory, aiming to streamline a key part of plantation operations.
The initiative is being carried out with Tropoworks and is positioned as a field logistics upgrade. By shifting part of the transport process to drone-based movement, the company is looking to speed up the journey from harvest point to processing while reducing the need for repeated manual handling.
For tea producers, the time taken to move green leaf can directly affect workflow and productivity. Harrisons Malayalam said the drone-based approach is intended to improve operational efficiency, ease movement across the estate and help create a faster link between field activity and factory intake.
The Lockhart Estate trial highlights how plantation companies are testing new tools for everyday operations, not just monitoring and mapping. In this case, the focus is on practical transport use, with drone deployment aimed at making green leaf handling quicker and more efficient within the estate system.
