Precision Agriculture Methods & Cranberry Crop Monitoring with Drones

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1 Precision Agriculture Methods & Cranberry Crop Monitoring with Drones Presented by: Mike Morellato, M.Sc., GISP Owner, Crop Sensors

2 Remote Sensing and Agriculture Longer history than many realize.of identifying, observing, and measuring crops (and other phenomena) without coming into contact with them 1930s: Crop inventories and soil survey mapping by USDA and US Soil Conservation Service 1972: Landsat program began with first launch; longest running of its kind. Made Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE) a reality wheat yield estimates over Great Plains : Just prior to WWI, German and French reconnaissance aircraft equipped s: pioneering Ag work by Robert Colwell at UC Berkeley in RS : AgRISTARS program: barley, corn, cotton, rice, soybeans : Civilian agricultural drones in Europe (e.g. Sensefly) 2012 to present: Exponential growth in civilian drones in North America

3 Drones or UAS Unmanned Aircraft Systems o Term acknowledges presence of a ground station o Other terms: UAV, RPV, ROA o No controller required while mapping o Pre-planned flight lines from a laptop or tablet o Multiple platforms o Fixed wing long endurance or ultralight versions o Multirotor platform o Various sensors Multispectral and visual (true color) are a focus here

4 Benefits vs. Traditional Fixed Wing Traditional systems higher cost, airport bound UAVs have many benefits: Cheaper than traditional air photo collection No onboard pilot or fuel required Low altitude = high resolution Zero emissions during flight Very quick to mobilize, launch remotely Ability to preview product immediately after flight More affordable approach to record temporal trends Sensors can be swapped out easily

5 Single photo example (100 metres)

6 How can drone data assist cranberry growers? 1. Identification of crop stresses and yield-limiting issues; 2. Irrigation efficiency and water management; 3. Early detection of plant diseases and pests; 4. Monitor growth rates and predict yield; 5. Tracking overall crop health (vigor) through the growing season; 6. Detecting the early onset of noxious and invasive weeds; 7. Optimizing inputs such as fertilizers; and 8. Assessing canopy coverage and plant counts. the main goal is actionable information delivered to the farm manager.

7 Remote Sensing and Agriculture - Options Frequency Cost Resolution Frequency Cost Resolution Frequency Cost Resolution

8 General recon, Quantifying problem areas

9 Multiple sensors and calculating indices Extend beyond the visual spectrum crops absorb and reflect light differently depending on wavelength Chlorophyll content Nitrogen content Indications of water stress Most interested in visible and Near Infrared

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11 Why is Frequency Important? Phases of farming and timing involved With traditional methods, difficult to collect results + react appropriately especially with unexpected variability Plan Plant Grow Harvest (Months) (Hours/Days) (Months) (Hours/Days) + Environmental influences (Minutes/Hours)

12 Goals for Cranberry Research in Testing of new multispectral sensor on cranberry plots at various phases of growth 2. Compare soil moisture readings with crop vigor data and other indices to gauge usefulness 3. Process data through the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), eliminating background + atmospheric noise 4. Test 3D crop scenes and weed anomaly detection 5. Determine the best intervals for temporal comparisons

13 3D flight path

14 Expected Data Deliverables 2-10 cm/pixel high resolution orthophoto mosaics Crop vigor and vegetation index maps o Can be viewed online, on paper and on a tablet (on the farm) Statistical summaries o Crop densities, crop coverage, plant counts + irrigation metrics Time series mapping tracking crops throughout the growing season o This is strengthened with web mapping o High definition video Overview map poster in PDF and print Google Earth file or GIS data available as well

15 Flight planning + post flight checks on site

16 Thank you for your time - questions? More information at cropsensors.com Mike Morellato mike@cropsensors.com