Yubin Lan and W. Clint Hoffmann
Aerial Application Technology Project, USDA-ARS

Precision agriculture includes different technologies that allow agricultural professional to use information management tools to optimize agriculture production. The new technologies allow aerial application applicators to improve application accuracy and efficiency, which saves time and money for the farmer and the pilot. The USDA-ARS-Aerial Application Technology group has an active research component in precision application. This presentation will discuss the various research components and how they will ultimately fit into a complete precision application package. Since aerial applicators are flying over numerous fields between spray missions, these aircraft can be fitted with multispectral cameras that can detect crop diseases, water stress, and other crop conditions. Research is underway to convert these images into application maps (i.e. shape files) without a lot of effort or special knowledge from the pilot/operator, which could then be a new service to a customer. These application maps could then be easily uploaded into the spray system computer to make variable-rate aerial application of cotton growth regulators, defoliants, and insecticides. The goal of these research projects is to demonstrate that precision agriculture technology has the potential to benefit the industry by saving operators and farmers’ time and money.