2020
UAVs for monitoring soybean defoliation by pests
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Contributor/Checkoff:
Ohio Soybean Council
Category:
Sustainable Production
Keywords:
Biotic stressCrop protectionField management Pest
Parent Project:
This is the first year of this project.
Lead Principal Investigator:
Scott A. Shearer, The Ohio State University
Co-Principal Investigators:
Project Code:
20-R-13
Contributing Organization (Checkoff):
Ohio Soybean Council
$20,000
Institution Funded:
The Ohio State University
$20,000
Brief Project Summary:

While it is possible to accurately assess soybean defoliation by pests through on-the-ground scouting, the process is time consuming. UAV-based remote-sensing technology could be used to quickly assess damage in the field to aid with management decisions, which contributing to efficient and appropriate pest management. The specific project objectives include obtaining ground-truthed data on insect defoliation levels, evaluating different UAV-mounted sensors for their ability to diagnose this known damage from the air, and developing a preliminary model on how aerial observations correspond to actual damage, which can be validated in future work.

Key Benefactors:
farmers, agronomists, extension agents

Information And Results
Project Deliverables

Q1 (April-June) • Establish experimental layout and work with FSR staffs on implementation strategy • Select potential sites for data collection

Q2 (July-September) • Conduct soybean defoliation scouting experiments in the selected field location • Collect ground truth data on soybean defoliation • Schedule and execute UAV flights over selected sites using visible and multispectral sensors in parallel with ground truth data collection

Q3 (October-December) • Process and analyze collected UAV imagery and ground truth data • Summarize ground truth data

Q4 (January-March) • Document success, expectations, and concerns of using imagery-based scouting • Develop a preliminary methodology

Final Project Results

The United Soybean Research Retention policy will display final reports with the project once completed but working files will be purged after three years. And financial information after seven years. All pertinent information is in the final report or if you want more information, please contact the project lead at your state soybean organization or principal investigator listed on the project.