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Aphid scouting with drones

drone

Researchers at the University of Minnesota are using drones to identify aphid pressure in soybeans.

Entomologist Bob Koch says sensors fitted to the drone measure energy from the sun being reflected at different wavelengths.

“Healthy soybean plants have kind of a characteristic pattern of reflectance, but if plants are stressed they have a different pattern.  So we’ve been able to document that the soybean aphids effect the reflectance of soybean plants.”

He tells Brownfield the goal is to improve the efficiency of soybean aphid scouting.

“So rather than growers or consultants tromping through soybean fields counting aphids on plants, the hope would be that someday we could fly these fields with drones with special sensors to try and detect which fields are being stressed.”

Koch says there is a ways to go before growers will be able to implement these technologies for aphid scouting, and the University has applied for a USDA grant to try and advance its research.

 

 

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