By Steve Watson
The eyes of the agricultural industry are on Kansas State University and its cutting edge research into the use of drones for remote sensing of plant conditions.
Known as small Unmanned Aircraft Systems, these inexpensive low-flying aircraft have been fitted with optical sensors by a team of K-State researchers and this has opened up an entirely new world of possibilities. Properly analyzed and compiled, the imagery data flowing in from these unmanned aircraft are now giving agronomists a revealing, real-time look at cropland, rangeland, and surface water quality conditions during the growing season, says Kevin Price, professor of agronomy and geography and director of the Ecology and Agricultural Spatial Analysis Laboratory.
The response from those in the field has been overwhelming, Price says.
“I recently presented the results of some of our work at a conference of producers and consultants in Kansas, and since that time they’ve been knocking our doors down asking for more information and how to get trained on this technology,” Price says.
“This new technology is so appealing because it is a quick and inexpensive way to look at vegetative conditions over a large area. Producers can gather the information they need on their operations whenever they’d like and as often as they’d like, which is not the case with most other sources of remote sensing imagery such as satellite data,” he adds.
Widespread field use of this new technology is only limited by the need for flight simulator training on flying the sUAS, the need to get the necessary optical sensing equipment, the need for training on software to analyze and compile the raw data, and possible Federal Aviation Agency restrictions on flights, Price said. Further research into applications will also help generate more uses.
The K-State team is led by Price; Deon van der Merwe, associate professor and head of the toxicology section in K-State’s veterinary diagnostic laboratory; and Kirk Demuth, chief pilot, Unmanned Aircraft Systems program, K-State-Salina Aviation.
This collaborative effort among programs has made great strides within the past year. The team is now able to provide remotely sensed multispectral images with a resolution of one inch or less from an unmanned aircraft.
This technology, which uses a variety of spectral data, has potential for several uses, including:
* Early-generation crop breeding line evaluations
* Quick and wide-scale scouting of croplands for crop conditions, weed densities and stand evaluation
* Grassland conditions, cattle distribution and forage production evaluation
* Detection of noxious weeds
* Detection of blue green algae blooms in ponds and reservoirs
One of the most exciting potential uses of remote sensing data from small Unmanned Aircraft Systems in agriculture is in the field of crop scouting and variable rate technology for input applications, says Price.
Using sUAS technology, it is possible to quickly identify areas of the field that are in poor condition, which can then be investigated more closely on the ground, he says.
“This kind of remote sensing analysis would allow crop consultants and producers to be much more efficient in the scouting of fields for potential problems,” he says.
Another possibility in the area of crop production is the use of remote sensing spectral analysis to map areas of weeds in a field, Price adds. Such a field map of weeds could then be used to program variable rate applicators for postemergence herbicide applications, saving on herbicide costs, he explains.
This technology could also detect nutrient deficiencies or soil moisture-related problems in the field, which could then be addressed by precision agriculture and variable rate technology, Price says.
“In these ways, remote sensing technology could be used to complement normal ground-based field scouting to more quickly and accurately assess crop needs during the growing season,” Price concludes.
For more information and a field demonstration of this technology, see the following YouTube videos:
