
Aircraft-Mounted Sensors Detect Thirsty PlantsBy Marcia Wood September
23, 1998Plants that aren't getting enough to drink can easily be detected by a
package of aircraft-mounted sensors shortly after thirst sets in, a summer-long
study has confirmed. Scientists with the Agricultural
Research Service conducted the test at a central California cotton field. They found that the devices are sensitive enough to alert growers--in time to
take action--that crops need water. That's good news, because scientists
anticipate that farmers in the future may increasingly rely on imagery from
instruments mounted on aircraft and satellites. Stephan J. Maaswith the ARS Western Integrated
Cropping Systems Research Unit, Shafter, Calif., led the experiment in
collaboration with ARS colleagues in Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz. He plans to
discuss preliminary results at a research field day this morning [Sept. 23] at
the ARS and University of California Shafter research center. ARS is the
principal research agency of the U.S. Department
of Agriculture. The thirst-detector package includes three multispectral digital
cameras--that detect light in different wavelengths--and a thermal infrared
sensor that detects heat. Imagery from all sensors is processed through a
computer. The California study is one of the first to show that scrutinizing
imagery from both instruments may be the best way to sidestep inaccuracies that
can occur when thermal imagery alone is used. To run the tests, scientists turned off irrigation valves for a research
field. That simulated real-life situations, in which irrigation pipes could
become blocked, or automated schedulers malfunction, for instance. Scientific contact: Stephan J. Maas, USDA-ARS Western Integrated
Cropping Systems Research Unit, Shafter, Calif., phone (805) 746-8002, fax (805)
746-1619, [email protected]. Story contacts Western Integrated Cropping Systems Research Marcia A Wood U.S. Department of Agriculture | |