MICASENSE WAYS TO USE MULTISPECTRAL IMAGERY IN AG

www.micasense.com

WAYS TO USE MULTISPECTRAL IMAGERY IN AG

MICASENSE

ILLUSTRATED EXAMPLES OF MULTISPECTRAL IMAGERY IN AGRICULTURE

14

http://www.micasense.com

CONTENTSTABLE OF

Vegetation health mapping

Insurance

01

02

Disease detection

Irrigation and water management

03

04

Plant classification and species differentiation

Plant counting

05

06

Identify and map drainage tiles

Weed detection

07

08

Input monitoring

09

Temporal analysis

Detect and monitor nutrient deficiencies

10

11

Advanced scouting

Terrain modeling

12

13

Monitor large acreages

14

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ABOUT MICASENSE

Our goal is to give you the tools you need to get the best-quality yield from the healthiest crops you can grow. It’s why we designed our products for agriculture from the ground up, why we work to make them better every day, and why our engineers answer customers’ questions when needed—so you know that we’ve put together a solution that can help you keep your profits as healthy as your crops.

We are your trusted partnerWhen you’re working on the scale that you do, you need to be able to stand by your recommendations. We’re not just in the sensor business; we’re in the business of giving you the data to make better recommendations and to back them up with your clients in ways they can understand.

At MicaSense, we’re at the forefront of multispectral sensor development, and together with customers and partners, we’re pushing the boundaries on agricultural mapping and data analysis.

We get the right tools into your hands so you can make the right call at the right time—with clear, actionable information to guide your decisions in the field.

We’re here to work with you, helping you get better data and therefore better results, so you can focus on maximizing your crops.

Because we know that you’re experts in your field, just like we are in ours.

Introduction

Intro

2 - MICASENSE, INC - SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTS, STRONG PARTNERSHIPS ILLUSTRATED EXAMPLES OF MULTISPECTRAL IMAGERY IN AGRICULTURE - 3

More efficient large-scale farming operations

Altum was created specifically to solve pain points for our customers and to empower them to push the envelope of what already exists in agriculture. Whether it is a researcher devising a new way to monitor drought or a grower spotting pests before they’ve spread to an entire field, our vision is to build tools that offer unlimited opportunities for innovation.

The use of new technologies in agriculture is playing a key role in improving the efficiency of large farming operations and multispectral technology is no exception. The data captured by drone-based multispectral sensors can make operations more efficient by providing information that allows for better use of resources and more localized applications.

The specifics on how multispectral imagery improves efficiency are detailed in this guide.

RESULTS

JUSTIN McALLISTERCTO and Co-Founder, MicaSense, Inc.

Intro4 - MICASENSE, INC - SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTS, STRONG PARTNERSHIPS ILLUSTRATED EXAMPLES OF MULTISPECTRAL IMAGERY IN AGRICULTURE - 5

Not all problems are visible to the naked eye - especially during the early stages of a pest infestation, disease onset, or nutrient deficiency. Unlike RGB or NDVI cameras, multispectral sensors capture both visible and invisible spectral bands and can highlight signs of stress and disease earlier and more accurately. From the different bands, specifically the red edge band, it is possible to generate indices to see individual chlorophyll levels in the plants and compare over time. Low chlorophyll content is often an early indicator of plant stress that would not be apparent in manual scouting. With plant health maps, growers can quickly identify stressed areas and perform targeted scouting for a more accurate idea of what is going on in their field.

Vegetation health mapping

01Agriculture can have major risks associated, such as drought, natural disasters, and pests. Farmers are heavily dependent on nature and weather conditions. For example, a small hail storm can destroy a part of a field and significantly impact yield. Agricultural insurance helps farmers protect their crops and reduce the financial impact derived from a natural disaster. Drone-based multispectral imagery expedites insurance claim processes by providing accurate information, allowing insurance agents to identify and determine the extent of the damage and correlate the insurance area with the damaged area.

Insurance

02

NDVI map of a corn field showing the damage caused by a lightning strike. This data was

used by a farmer to file an insurance claim.

Read more on our blog here


https://blog.micasense.com/gone-in-a-flash-lightning-meets-multispectral-imaging-ae3545298e90

03

Multispectral sensors can highlight small changes in the health of crops. This is because multispectral imagery captures a critical part of the light spectrum for studying plants (712–722 nm), called the red edge band. It is in this section of the spectrum that the first signs of stress start to show. Sometimes this stress is related to disease. Using analytics generated with the red edge band, growers can identify, monitor and track disease-related stress. This is how multispectral sensors can help growers catch disease sooner and act faster to stop the spread.

Disease detection

Read more on our blog hereDetection of wheat streak mosaic virus in a wheat field

Chlorophyll levels of a walnut orchard highlight a group of low health

trees at the southeast corner of the field. Scouting confirmed that

Phytophthora, combined with soils that had excess salinity, was the

likely cause.


https://blog.micasense.com/managing-root-rot-35240197796d

• Validate temporary irrigation installations

• Ensure intended irrigation coverages

• Discover equipment failures

• Identification of nozzles needing maintenance

• Unintended spray patterns

• Pooling runoff

• Missed areas

• Overspray

Other applications include:

DSM can help predict fill depth and extent of a water storage pond.

NRG color composite of a potato pivot. The dark purple color in

the NRG indicates areas of water-saturated soil.


Water is an important yet scarce resource in agriculture. In regions where the levels of precipitation are too low to guarantee the health of crops, supplementary irrigation is utilized to ensure that an entire field receives the necessary water for production.

The combination of multispectral, high-resolution RGB, and thermal imagery can provide powerful insights into water management. For example, color composites using the NIR band (like CIR) can help users identify overly damp areas in an intuitive way. In addition, areas that are benefiting from excess irrigation (due to leaks, pooling etc) will be highlighted.

Irrigation & water management

04

NDRE map showing excess growth where irrigation leaks have occurred in a vineyard.


https://blog.micasense.com/potatoes-in-pendleton-392d2368246e

05

Manual classification of fruit trees or other plants can be time-consuming and cost intensive. In contrast, drone-based multispectral sensors capture high-quality data that specialized software and algorithms can use to classify plants in a given field by size, species, chlorophyll content, and canopy closure.

Some differences among species may not be visible to the naked eye, which is usually the case of volunteer plants. The word volunteer is commonly used to refer

Plant classification and species differentiation


Chlorophyll map of a vineyard used to identify

“volunteer” vines (in orange) present on the field. The

volunteer vines have higher chlorophyll levels than the

planted variety.

Looking closely at the vines, it is noticeable the volunteer

vine (right) has small, smooth, and glossy leaves with tight

bark. In contrast, the planted variety has larger, softer leaves

with more of a matte texture, a lighter green appearance,

and loose bark.

06Multispectral sensors capture information that allows for more than just plant classification. This imagery can also feed algorithms information for plant detection and counting, saving farmers hours and making yield predictions more accurate.

Plant counting

to plants of a varietal different from what was planted or grafted in a field. Buried in the ground, and growing in the same way as the remainder of the field, these volunteer plants can be difficult to spot.


https://blog.micasense.com/detecting-weeds-with-micasense-atlas-and-rededge-1ef99b955ca5

A multispectral sensor with five bands allows for the creation of multiple indices. Similar to NDVI, the NDRE index uses the red edge band and helps identify plant stress. The image above shows how a grower identified and mapped drainage tiles using the NDRE index. The vegetation over the tile lines benefits from the irrigation tile and therefore is healthier than the plants not directly over the lines.

Identify and map drainage tiles

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Due to the changes in the vegetation, the drainage tiles were easier to identify using the

NDRE index.


Efficient control of weeds in a farming operation is critical. Weeds can harbor pests, use valuable nutrients, and serve as hosts for diseases that all too easily spread to the crop. Knowing where and when to apply herbicide can provide significant savings, not only in preventing damage to the crop but in minimizing the amount of product that is purchased and applied. Analytics developed with multispectral data can identify and highlight weeds, as weeds may have a different spectral signature than the planted crop.

Weed detection

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https://blog.micasense.com/identifying-drainage-tiles-with-rededge-pix4dfields-fee31545d731

https://blog.micasense.com/managing-weeds-in-a-cherry-orchard-b30367d42d27

Reducing Labor Cost

The RedEdge enables us to get deeper insights into very complicated environmental conditions with exceptional clarity. Having this derived insight enables us to pioneer

new discoveries and services for our customers, providing them greater understanding and enabling them to make better decisions. Rugged, easy to use, and extremely flexible for operations whether we are performing very complex collections in urban areas or

simple collections in open spaces.

Walking the fields will always be a part of farming, but getting out and walking large extensions costs an arm

and a leg. Through our technology it is possible to know where to walk and what to look for, saving you a lot of

time. With our year-over-year tracking, we can also help you predict how many hands you’ll need, based on your

expected crop health and yield, so we can save you money too.

COST REDUCTION

TIM HAYNIECEO, Spectrabotics


09Fertilizers represent one of the highest input costs for farming operations and one of the most difficult aspects to manage. If applied in appropriate amounts, it can increase yield. But if applied in excess, in addition to wasting money, it can lead to leaching and contamination of nearby streams and lakes.

Applying the right amount requires knowledge and information. Multispectral sensors not only allow for easy identification of areas low in nutrients but also help monitor the effects of these applications throughout the season and determine if, when, and where a new application is needed.

Input monitoring

NDRE map from a flight completed two weeks after a urea application. A non-

uniform application is clearly visible.

10It is important to monitor a crop throughout the season, but accurate data comparison is only possible with a radiometrically calibrated sensor. Calibration means the effects of varying sunlight conditions are compensated for, allowing growers to compare captures from different flights in the same season, or even compare datasets from different seasons to evaluate the results of fertilizer and treatment applications or changes in farming practices. For example, if three flights were taken over a field in the span of a month, and they were done on both cloudy and sunny days, calibration ensures that the differences in the data are not due to the brightness of the sun and rather to the differences in the plant reflectance itself.

Temporal analysis

NDVI maps of flights completed a week apart to track the results

of fungicide application in a barley field. NDVI quantifies plant

vigor. Plots of low NDVI have little to no green plant tissue

remaining.

The difference between the two NDVI maps corresponds to the

levels of maturity in barley.


JUL 15 2016

JUL 21 2016


https://blog.micasense.com/monitoring-urea-application-in-rice-292f8ad43495

Nutrient deficiencies often produce symptoms like chlorosis, low plant vigor, slowed growth, and low biomass. Most of these symptoms are invisible to the naked eye but are easily visible with multispectral imagery, especially if it includes the red edge band. A multispectral sensor can highlight symptoms of nutrient deficiencies and help the farmer take samples in the areas that are most affected.

The following map of a vineyard highlights in red vines that are chlorotic. In-field inspection and leaf analyses indicated potassium deficiency as the cause of the plant stress.

Detect and monitor nutrient deficiencies

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It is not always easy to stay up to date and aware of the problems that can be happening at the plant level, especially in long-sown fields. High-quality multispectral imagery eases the process, providing advanced field scouting capabilities. In one flight, it is possible to collect accurate and geotagged information of a problem in the field, so growers and agronomist can assess the situation and determine the appropriate intervention.

Advanced crop scouting

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The Chlorophyll Map in MicaSense Atlas enables detection of the problem. Trees

exhibiting symptoms of chlorosis are visible in red color on the southern portion of the

field.



https://blog.micasense.com/mapping-potassium-deficiency-table-grapes-in-the-san-joaquin-valley-434a4b85a80e

https://blog.micasense.com/detecting-chlorosis-in-plums-b119402c1f75

13One of the advantages of a calibrated multispectral sensor is the generation of aligned outputs, which can be used to create digital surface models (DSM). A DSM provides more than just context when it comes to managing farming operations. It also provides insights into water management, land uses and terrain elevation, factors that can influence agricultural practices and even determine which crops to plant in order to take advantage of the land conditions.

Terrain modeling

• Steep Hillside Avocado Cultivation

• 475m (1560 feet) of elevation change

• Over 1,000 Ha (2475ac)

Aligned layers shown:

Aligned RGB, Dots (plant identification), and DSM layers shown.

DSM with Hillshade Contours


Managing large farms requires lots of time and work - even in the most efficient farming operations growers may not have access to the full picture of plant health within each of their fields. They need a fast and accurate way to identify and monitor problems in their fields. With just one flight, drone based multispectral imagery makes it is possible to visualize the whole farm and find out what is happening at every level, whether it is irrigation problems, nutrient deficiencies, weeds or pest infestations.

Monitor large acreages


1300 N Northlake Way #100, Seattle, WA 98103

E : [email protected]

W : www.micasense.com

Copyright © 2019

Altum imagery showing aligned thermal and RGB digital surface model.

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MICASENSE WAYS TO USE MULTISPECTRAL IMAGERY IN AG

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