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UAVs open up new fields favored by plant breeders
[ China Agricultural Machinery Industry News ] Diels pointed out that drone applications are very practical for large breeding companies, they test hundreds of thousands of potential varieties each year. If this technology is used, plant breeders can save time and effort, and new varieties can be developed faster for farmers to use, which is a welcome improvement.
UAVs open up new fields favored by plant breeders
Researchers have developed an algorithm that compares the images acquired by drones with the maturity maturity data measured by traditional methods (through field studies). Our maturity predictions with drones are very close to our field research records, Diels pointed out.
The prediction accuracy rate achieved by the model reached 93%, but Diels said that they might do better without the inherent limitations of the drone. For example, drones can only fly on sunny and windy days.
UAVs are gaining more and more recognition for their efficiency and accuracy in improving agriculture. Especially after the new FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) rules came into effect in August 2016, this study is the first to use no Research on human-machine optimization breeding practice. Diels pointed out that the application is very practical for large breeders, who test hundreds of thousands of potential varieties each year. If this technology is used, plant breeders can save time and effort, and new varieties can be developed faster for farmers to use, which is a welcome improvement.
The paper, "Development methods based on drone platforms to improve soybean yield estimation and plant maturity prediction" has been published in the journal Environmental Remote Sensing. In addition to Diels and Schmitz, NeilYu, LiujunLi, LeiTian, ​​and Jonathan Greenberg are co-authors of the paper, all from the University of Illinois.
Plant breeders cultivate thousands of potential varieties each time; until now, observations of key plant characteristics were done manually. In a new study, unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, were successfully used to remotely assess and predict soybean maturity in tests of potential species. Using drones to do this can greatly reduce the labor required to evaluate new crops.
“People may have 100 acres of land, planting only one soybean variety, and plant breeders may plant 10,000 potential varieties on 10 acres of land. Farmers can quickly determine when a single soybean variety in the field will be harvested. However, in the fall, plant breeders must walk through the field to determine the maturity of each potential crop,†explains Brian Deers, a soybean breeder at the University of Illinois.
“We have to check every three days,†adds master student Nathan Schmitz. “It takes us a lot of time during the harvest season of the year. And the fields are sometimes hot and sometimes muddy.â€
To simplify the work, an interdisciplinary research team, including plant breeders, computer scientists, engineers and geospatial experts, turned to unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drone research.
“When drones can be used for us, we will look at how we can apply this new technology to the breeding field. This is an attempt, we are trying to simplify complex things,†Diels said.
One of the goals is to predict the maturity of broad beans using a camera mounted on a drone and sophisticated data and imaging analysis techniques. “We use multispectral imaging technology,†Schmitz explained. “We built an equation in the program to get the light-frequency changes of the reflection on the plant. The change in color is the basis for how we distinguish between mature and immature plants.â€