Plant Pathology Preview - Bushland
| At
the Bushland, Texas precision
agriculture test facility, the AccuPulse™ System uses an existing
pivot irrigation unit to deliver fungicides, insecticides, or herbicides.
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Control
on the system is at half-span intervals (80 ft. lengths) to allow
site-specific application.
Right
now, our scientists are investigating the feasibity of targeting
only that portion of a field where disease is present for chemical
disease controls. |
|
Low
Energy Precision Application (LEPA) emitters
can be individually controlled with valves.
The rate
of irrigation can be adjusted throught the speed of the pivot. This
allows us to manipulate irrigation timing and amounts in our studies.
Irrigation management has
been shown to be an effective way of controlling many soil-borne
plan pathogens, in addition to saving water. |
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In
the lower wedge of the satellite image, a checker board pattern
is visible. This is due to different irrigation rates, applied as
part of a study on irrigation
management of
soil-borne
diseases.
In
this case ... it appears to be herbicide damage.
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Find
the arrow in this satellite image... it points to an area under
stress.
The image can help guide a scout to a specific location in a field
to
diagnose a problem.
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| This
picture shows a margin of the damaged area with healthy plants
in the upper right hand corner and stunted plants to the left. |
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Thermal
infrared sensor mounted on center pivot.
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Multi-spectral
radiometer used to measure crop canopy light reflectance. Plants
under stress reflect light differently than
healthy plants. This instrument measures 9 different wavelenghs
of light.
Plant
Pathology Precision Agriculture Research at Bushland
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| Local
sensors such as this infrared thermometer and
multi-spectral
radiometer allow Bushland Plant Pathologist,
Charles M. Rush and his research team to detect crop stress.
The data is then compared with images gathered from aircraft
or satellites.
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