UAVs and Precision Agriculture Carlyle C. Brewster 1, Erin L. Holden 1 and Jon C. Allen 2 1 Department of Entomology Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106

Precision Agriculture Precision Agriculture Key Elements zInformation on the variable of interest is needed at an appropriate scale. zTechnology is needed to capture the data and for interpretation and analysis of the data. zManagement response then is implemented at the appropriate scale. A management strategy that uses information technologies to bring data from multiple sources to bear on decisions associated with crop production National Research Council Precision Agriculture in the 21 st Century.

Precision (Site-Specific) Agriculture z Yield monitoring and mapping z Soil condition mapping (variable rate fertilizer) z Weed mapping What about precision management of arthropod pests ?

The potential of precision agriculture is limited by the lack of appropriate measurement and analysis techniques [and that] support is needed for the advancement of data acquisition and analysis methods, including sensing technologies [and] sampling methods… The National Research Council (1997)

Twospotted Spider Mites in Peanut

GPS Controlled Bug Mapping ( Manual Scouting) Omnstar ( Bug Mapping of Spider Mite Population in Peanut

Whiteflies in Imperial Valley, CA. Bug Map NDVI

Unmanned Air Vehicle zUAV: y2 x 1.5 x 0.25 ft y1.25 lbs y18 to 45 mph y0.5 hour duration y1500 ft altitude y0.9 mile radius yRadio control 8 channel PCM uplink on 72 MHz yAltitude hold and wing leveling autopilot yNo GPS guidance yHand Launch, Skid landing

Remote Sensing System Near infrared & Color sensors zRemote Sensors: y2 CCD analog video cameras (color and NIR). A third color camera used for guidance control y330 lines resolution y90 degree FOV yData link of 72 MHz, 2.4 GHz downlink yGround station: 2 video receiving and recording stations (one for each camera)

Test Flights at VT Kentland Farm

UAV Images of Cotton Fields Suffolk, VA Visible NIR NDVI

UAV Images of Peanut Fields Suffolk, VA Visible NIR NDVI

The Peanut Farmer

Research: Virginia Tech Article by Heather McElrath

Agriculture Field Day (Tidewater AREC) FMC Consultant Communication

UAV Remote Sensing in Precision Agriculture (and Pest Management) Lot of potential, if… zThe craft does not sustain damage or flies away easily zSensors can capture very high resolution (digital) data (either as still images or video) zGPS capability is available zWe can perform near real-time or real-time analysis of the data. This would depend on ySoftware yEquipment zWe can easily relate the cause of stress to the crop to the within-field variable of interest (i.e., whether soil condition, drought, insect, or disease, etc.)

Acknowledgments zDr. Ames Herbert & Tidewater AREC, Suffolk, VA zKentland Farm, Virginia Tech zVirginia Agricultural Experiment Station zUSDA Southern Region IPM program