TY - CONF
T1 - Remote field crop water stress monitor
AU - Drechsler, Kelley M.
AU - Ko-Madden, Channing T.
AU - Schramm, Alexander E.
AU - Rojo, Francisco E.
AU - Upadhyaya, Shrinivasa K.
N1 - Funding Information:
Many thanks to Dr. Ken Giles, Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering; Garry Pearson, Department of Plant Sciences and Tom Bell, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering for providing guidance and support during this project. Moreover, the authors are grateful for the financial support received from the Verizon team, including Emily Bosland, Kevin Welsh and Mois Badri.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Ongoing drought and ever increasing urban demand for water have put tremendous pressure on growers to use water resources wisely. Past research at UC Davis and elsewhere has shown that irrigation management based on plant water status can improve crop quality and water use efficiency. The objective of this project was to adapt an existing perennial crop water stress monitor for use in annual field crops, such as processing tomatoes, to assist in irrigation management. A thermal infrared sensor attached to an adjustable mount overlooked a processing tomato field and measured the temperature of a circular viewing area, consisting of a combination of canopy and soil. Moreover, a digital camera in conjunction with image processing software estimated the total canopy area viewed by the sensor and assisted in determining the average leaf temperature. Furthermore, the system was integrated with a suite of other sensors that measured microclimatic variables, such as wind speed, air temperature, relative humidity, and incident radiation that also affect the plant water status. The system also included a cellular modem to upload the data to the internet in real-time. Moreover, weather resistant housing made the system ready for harsh environmental conditions in the field. The system was tested in an irrigated processing tomato field and was found to function satisfactorily. This field-ready data acquisition system has potential for providing useful information to farmers in implementing precision irrigation in field crops.
AB - Ongoing drought and ever increasing urban demand for water have put tremendous pressure on growers to use water resources wisely. Past research at UC Davis and elsewhere has shown that irrigation management based on plant water status can improve crop quality and water use efficiency. The objective of this project was to adapt an existing perennial crop water stress monitor for use in annual field crops, such as processing tomatoes, to assist in irrigation management. A thermal infrared sensor attached to an adjustable mount overlooked a processing tomato field and measured the temperature of a circular viewing area, consisting of a combination of canopy and soil. Moreover, a digital camera in conjunction with image processing software estimated the total canopy area viewed by the sensor and assisted in determining the average leaf temperature. Furthermore, the system was integrated with a suite of other sensors that measured microclimatic variables, such as wind speed, air temperature, relative humidity, and incident radiation that also affect the plant water status. The system also included a cellular modem to upload the data to the internet in real-time. Moreover, weather resistant housing made the system ready for harsh environmental conditions in the field. The system was tested in an irrigated processing tomato field and was found to function satisfactorily. This field-ready data acquisition system has potential for providing useful information to farmers in implementing precision irrigation in field crops.
KW - Field crops
KW - Image processing
KW - Plant water stress
KW - Precision irrigation
KW - Sensors
KW - Tomatoes
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85035325275&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.13031/aim.201700903
DO - 10.13031/aim.201700903
M3 - Paper
AN - SCOPUS:85035325275
T2 - 2017 ASABE Annual International Meeting
Y2 - 16 July 2017 through 19 July 2017
ER -
