The elementary tool is the painting brush; the plasma ball. It is generally called "Ball of Light" or simply BoL. This is the basic tool that lays down the crop. It is a condensed packet of electro-magnetic energy in the form of plasma - ionised gas, extremely hot in the middle. Its size can be anything from a tennis ball to a beach ball. It is created by (electric) energizing of the atmospheric gases and is probably related to the ball lightning, a natural phenomenon sometimes created "accidentally" in a thunder storm. In this hypothesis I assume the charge of the plasma ball is positive (+).

(I think the plasma ball includes other energies not known to people yet; it is not essential for this hypothesis to understand these)

Moving close to the ground it undoubtedly leaves a more or less visilbe trace, whether it be sand, grass or snow.

But the most interesting effect takes place in tall hay and especially crop. If the ball flies close above or even among the crop, a remarkable effect takes place. While it passes over the stalks in fast speed, it doesn't have time to actually burn them. But the heat affects the stems in other ways. In the nodes a significant part of the water stored by the plant is positioned. The drop of water in the node quickly boils and vaporizes, expanding extremely fast while doing so. The hot vapour is absorbed into the node cells making them expand and soften, or in the extreme case even explode. Part of the vapour penetrates its way into below and above the node.

The rapidly moving and rotating plasma ball creates a turbulence of air behind it, aligned to the path of the ball. This current, though not very strong, is enough to bend the softened stems so that they get perfectly aligned to the path. The stems snap very easily but don't actually break. Sometimes they curve without snapping. The angle of the bend depends on the energy level and speed of the plasma, the condition of the crop and weather conditions. So a trace from 20 cm to some 60 or 70 cm wide of bent stalks are left behind the ball.

And what's even more interesting, because of the swirling turbulence the leaves of the stalks get sometimes "wrapped" around the stems, so that they make some kind of bundles...

Later when the crop cools down even the unsnapped stalks remain in the same position because their other sides have been stretched permanently.

As a single "painting tool", the plasma ball is not very efficient, however. This is because it basically moves forward in a very unstable manner. With a magnetic field around it can be forced to take a linear, circular or spiral path.