Drones in Agriculture

Drone technology gives the agriculture industry new tools in the tool belt, with planning strategies based on real-time data gathering and processing. The 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.

2. Planting: Startups have created drone-planting systems that achieve greater uptake rates

3. Crop spraying: Distance-measuring equipment—ultrasonic echoing and lasers

4. Crop monitoring: reduce the challenges of unpredictable weather conditions, expensive aircraft scouting and out of date satellite data.

5. Irrigation: Drones with hyper spectral, multi spectral, or thermal sensor scan identify which parts of a field are dry or need improvements.

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 multi spectral 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.