An agronomist and drone operator teamed up to find better ways of detecting plant stress in sugar beet and spotting disease and weed infestations with drones.
A sugar beet grower, David, had heard about the potential of drone technology from a friend who had been using drones to provide counts of plant and tree populations. A few weeks before harvest, David, a farmer and agronomist, approached Agremo for advice on the use of drones with sugar beet, specifically about how they could be used to detect plant stress.
Drones can provide plant counts, data on the location of certain weeds and diseases, or identify irrigation problems by identifying areas of water stress. Thus, they represent an exciting opportunity for farmers to improve crop management and allow a more targeted use of inputs.
Using drone imagery combined with Agremo plant stress analysis, David was able to produce a map indicating areas of weed and disease infestation within the crop. David could consider spraying only the affected areas of the field or using VRT (variable-rate technology).
Agremo suggested weed and plant disease analysis to ascertain the exact locations and extent of the problems caused by Cercospora and Chenopodium. Plant disease analyses can be used to identify the precise location and size of problem areas, optimize treatments and preventive measures (fungicide, insecticide, etc. and spot diseases before they affect the current yield goal. Weed analyses can be used to spot weed-infested areas in time and optimize weed control measures by applying the right amount of herbicide on the right spots.
Most forms of plant stress lead to visual changes. Drones can pick up different leaf colors or blank spots on the field, as well as cover ground more quickly than by crop walking. Multispectral sensors on drones can identify patterns that the human eye cannot. The drone view of the sugar beet field exactly shows the extent of the damage.
The data indicated that almost 50% of the field showed signs of stress. “I was both shocked and amazed when I got the results. I was shocked that the damaged area was so large — more than half of it. But Bosko, the agronomist from Agremo gave me a good tip”, said David. Before the plant stress report, David reported that he had a problem with the fungal disease Cercospora, and with the weed (Chenopodium album), commonly known as lambs quarters. Cercospora beticola is one of the most widespread and damaging sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) foliar disease . Competitive weed species such as Chenopodium album can cause up to 80% yield loss in sugar beet , and resistance has limited the effectiveness of chemical control methods.
For a weed and disease analysis, ground truth data was needed. It was carried out using a smartphone to take a picture of a square meter where the weed was present and another where the disease was present. This allows the software to compare areas of the field with and without weed and disease infestation with healthy areas of the crop and provide an accurate picture of the infestation.
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The Agremo analysis allowed David to plan more effective weed and disease control over the season. Plant stress reports can provide a broad picture of problems in a field, however, they don’t give the specifics on the exact weed or disease but provide insights into the extent of the damage (location and size of the problem areas). Once this is done, you can follow up with a specific weed or disease analysis to provide more details on the levels of infestation and locations within the field to be able to make decisions regarding specific control measures.
According to the reports, the area of the weed-infestation was twice as big as the diseased area. The map indicates the exact locations in the field.
Compared to traditional methods such as crop walking, drone-based plant disease and weed analyses are:
The data collected allows for more site-specific control of both weeds and disease, saving you time and money. In this case, the farmer could consider applying controls to affected areas of the field or using VRT (variable-rate technology). Research indicates that by applying site-specific weed control using a GPS-guided sprayer herbicide to control broad-leaved weeds in sugar beet, they can be reduced by 41% over a four year period .
Early observations of weed density can help to predict yield loss and aid in determining weed control strategies. Data and field maps can be used to formulate VRT prescriptions for chemical control or even for mechanical controls such as precision hoeing of weeds . Drones can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of control programs and to identify issues such as weed resistance. It’s been shown that results obtained using drones and image processing and the results obtained by observation can be very close to each other . However, a drone has the advantage in terms of time saved.
Drone data can provide accurate and useful information on these areas and will allow farmers to make informed decisions on the targeted treatment of a field or part of a field.
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