Drones Help Farmers Minimize Water Use

The UAV — unmanned aerial vehicle, commonly called a drone — is what researchers hope will pave the way for the future of agriculture

It came from above, hovering over the corn field, soaking up the light.

It saw things the farmers couldn’t: photosynthesis in the green leaves and heat radiating off arid soil.

The UAV — unmanned aerial vehicle, commonly called a drone — is what researchers hope will pave the way for the future of agriculture. It’s not from another planet or a war zone, it comes in peace to help solve the major problems farmers face while trying to feed a growing country.

Photos of fields taken outside the visible spectrum give researchers detailed insight into life’s two biggest needs, nutrients and water, and guide how to waste less of both. It’s called precision agriculture.

At the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Chris Hartman has been imaging fields from above for nearly a decade. After a hiatus in unmanned vehicle research because of federal regulations, he began experimenting with drones again last year.

“At its heart, what we’re doing in agriculture is trying to feed the population, given nutrient constraints, given runoff concerns, given constraints of water and soil, and needing to protect all those things,” Hartman said. “What better way to use the technology than to assist in making that happen?”

Farmers, of course, have surveyed their own fields for nutrient ­deficiencies and dry spots for years using their eyes and their guts, time-tested tools.

“Farmers have really great intuition that way,” Hartman said. “But that’s not practical when you have hundreds of acres.”

And it’s not practical when crops grow too high. Or when farmers get too busy. Some farm equipment can be outfitted with sensors to gauge how much fertilizer should be applied, but that also has limitations in its scope and maneuverability.

Hartman, a licensed pilot, can position the eight-propellered drone at a precise point 100 meters above the ground and image an entire field in a matter of minutes.

To determine where dry spots are they have been using a thermal camera, which picks up on poorly watered hot patches.

Hartman can’t speak to the success of the thermal camera yet, because it’s new, but he can speak to the success of the near-infrared sensor. The image correlates with either the nitrogen status or the chlorophyll content of the crop, which tells him what areas need more fertilizer and which are doing well.

Hartman then takes the near-infrared images and places them over a satellite image. The result is detailed, but not practical to use, so Hartman creates a map with roughly 400-square-foot plots to guide the application of fertilizer.

“Precision agriculture is the right input at the right time at the right place. You want to maximize the usage of that product and minimize the run off at the same time,” Hartman said. “You’re maximizing economics for the farmer by not wasting product, you’re minimizing environmental impact.”

Interest in high-tech farming is growing as well. Maryland Public Television plans to showcase Hartman’s work on their show Maryland Farm & Harvest, because of the interest generated by drones and because of its potential to help feed a growing population.

Source: DelawareOnline

Media

Taxonomy

• Innovation
• Technology
• Solutions
• Agricultural Technology