Could drones be the future of corn production?
“The question right now is, how do we process this information?” Davis said. “With gigabytes of imagery collected with each flight, we have to find a way to manage that data efficiently.”
By Sarah Cato
U of A System Division of Agriculture
June 30, 2023
Fast Facts:
- Corn Field Day held June 21 at Pine Tree Research Station
- Field day presented multiple uses for drones, current research
(529 words)
(Newsrooms: Download photos from the field day)
PINE TREE, Ark. — When attendees of the 2023 Corn Field Day were asked how many use drones for their field crop operation, only two hands went up. But researchers with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture believe this number could grow over the next five years.
The field day, held at the Pine Tree Research Station, welcomed 70 attendees who heard presentations on corn management, growth and development, nitrogen recommendations and recent research in drone technology.
Jason Kelley, extension wheat and feed grains agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, kicked off the field day with growth-staging demonstrations. He reminded attendees of the importance of accurate growth staging, specifically in regard to cut-off timings for common herbicides.
Drone research
Aurelie Poncet, assistant professor of precision agriculture for the Division of Agriculture, discussed her current research in drone technology for assessing mid-season nitrogen status in corn. The research project aims to provide an online tool that allows producers to identify nitrogen-deficient areas from drone footage of their fields.
“It is quite easy to take photos of our fields with drones, but analyzing those photos and assessing nitrogen status is not so easy,” Poncet said. “With this online tool, you will be able to upload your photos and, using standard red-green-blue camera technology — or RGB — the web application will alert you to potential problem areas.”
Poncet said this technology, which is still in development, will not replace tissue sampling. However, it will make sampling efforts more targeted and efficient.
“This is meant to complement tissue sampling, not replace it,” she said. “With this technology, you will be able to fly drones over your fields once or twice a week and prioritize sampling when you see potential issues.”
Poncet said the next step is to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of drone usage in corn production and to develop technology that will generate nitrogen recommendations based on data from drone footage.
Jason Davis, extension application technologist for the Division of Agriculture, shared multiple uses for drones in row crop production, all of which have the same goal: saving time and money. For scouts and crop consultants, Davis said drones could save hours of work each season.
“If crop consultants could fly a drone over their fields and identify problem areas, that’s taking five minutes to save yourself walking the wrong corner of your field,” Davis said. “It may not be able to pinpoint issues, but it can alert you to hot spots and help you cut through those acres a lot quicker.”
However, Davis pointed to the same issue as Poncet: analyzing the footage.
“The question right now is, how do we process this information?” Davis said. “With gigabytes of imagery collected with each flight, we have to find a way to manage that data efficiently.”
Davis’s research aims to develop technology that analyzes drone imagery in real time, and its arrival may not be far away. Both Davis and Poncet estimate drone usage in row crop production will grow exponentially over the next five years.
“Drones offer a lot of potential for farmers,” Davis said. “They are a great data collection technology, the imagery can be collected at farm scale, at incredibly high-resolution, and more affordable options are becoming available. With current research, I believe drones will be much more common in row crop production over the next five to seven years.”
Learn more about row crop production in Arkansas at uaex.uada.edu.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen
agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption
of best practices. The Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work
within the nation’s historic land grant education system through the Agricultural
Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas
System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension
and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex,
gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital
or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and
is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Media contact: Sarah Cato
scato@uada.edu
870-815-9035