Remote Sensing as an Agricultural Tool

In the late 1920s, when local pilots reported that they could identify areas of disease in fields of cotton, scientists at Texas Agricultural Experiment Station realized that aerial photos could be used to assess and measure diseased areas in field crops. Over the years researchers realized that different wavelengths, including those beyond the visible spectrum revealed different conditions in plants. Images from above could indicate a problem in the field before the grower was even aware of it.

With the advent of satellite imaging and spectral analysis done with computers, scientists are increasingly able to pinpoint problems in the field. Photographing in specific wavelengths can identify particular pigments found in plants. Analysis of images taken in specific wavelengths can reveal particular disease conditions, allowing farmers to target the problem areas thus reducing the amount of pesticides or fertilizers used.

Research is being conducted to combine sensing devices with farm machinery that would apply herbicide or fertilizer only where it is needed.

Link: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words from the American Phytopathological Society

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 5:26 PM on June 6, 2005