Drone technology will give the agriculture industry a high-technology
makeover, with planning and strategy based on real-time data gathering
and processing. PwC estimates the market for drone-powered solutions in
agriculture at $32.4 billion. Following are six ways aerial and
ground-based drones will be used throughout the crop cycle:
1. Soil and field analysis: Drones can be instrumental at the start of the crop cycle. They produce precise 3-D maps for early soil analysis, useful in planning seed planting patterns. After planting, drone-driven soil analysis provides data for irrigation and nitrogen-level management.
2. Planting: Startups
have created drone-planting systems that achieve an uptake rate of 75
percent and decrease planting costs by 85 percent. These systems shoot
pods with seeds and plant nutrients into the soil, providing the plant
all the nutrients necessary to sustain life.
3. Crop spraying: Distance-measuring
equipment—ultrasonic echoing and lasers such as those used in the
light-detection and ranging, or LiDAR, method—enables a drone to adjust
altitude as the topography and geography vary, and thus avoid
collisions. Consequently, drones can scan the ground and spray the
correct amount of liquid, modulating distance from the ground and
spraying in real time for even coverage. The result: increased
efficiency with a reduction of in the amount of chemicals penetrating
into groundwater. In fact, experts estimate that aerial spraying can be
completed up to five times faster with drones than with traditional
machinery.
4. Crop monitoring: Vast fields and
low efficiency in crop monitoring together create farming’s largest
obstacle. Monitoring challenges are exacerbated by increasingly
unpredictable weather conditions, which drive risk and field maintenance
costs. Previously, satellite imagery offered the most advanced form of
monitoring. But there were drawbacks. Images had to be ordered in
advance, could be taken only once a day, and were imprecise. Further,
services were extremely costly and the images’ quality typically
suffered on certain days. Today, time-series animations can show the
precise development of a crop and reveal production inefficiencies,
enabling better crop management.
5. Irrigation: Drones
with hyperspectral, multispectral, or thermal sensors can identify
which parts of a field are dry or need improvements. Additionally, once
the crop is growing, drones allow the calculation of the vegetation
index, which describes the relative density and health of the crop, and
show the heat signature, the amount of energy or heat the crop emits.
6. Health assessment: It’s
essential to assess crop health and spot bacterial or fungal infections
on trees. By scanning a crop using both visible and near-infrared
light, drone-carried devices can identify which plants reflect different
amounts of green light and NIR light. This information can produce
multispectral images that track changes in plants and indicate their
health. A speedy response can save an entire orchard. In addition, as
soon as a sickness is discovered, farmers can apply and monitor remedies
more precisely. These two possibilities increase a plant’s ability to
overcome disease. And in the case of crop failure, the farmer will be
able to document losses more efficiently for insurance claims.
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