Precision Application with Remote Sensing of Nematode Stress on Cotton May Provide More Profitable Control

Issue: Root-knot nematodes annually cause the greatest disease loss on the High Plains cotton crop. Producers generally manage this pest with aldicarb, using a single rate across a field. Precision application of pesticides can save producers money, especially if there is sufficient variation in nematode density across a field. However, it is expensive to determine the variation in nematode density by soil assays.

What has been done/discovered: Texas A&M plant pathologists at Lubbock began using aerial infrared photographs to detect root-knot nematode stress in cotton in 1997. Significant correlations were found between root knot nematode density and certain reflectance band combinations. However, reflectance could not be used to predict root-knot nematode with accuracy, and the band or band combinations, which correlated with root-knot nematode density, were inconsistent between fields and between years within the same field. Preliminary work with an aerial hyper spectral sensor in 2001, demonstrated a much higher degree of accuracy (predictability) for root-knot nematode in cotton than the infrared photography used in previous years. The consistency with respect to reflectance patterns of the hyper spectral sensor must be tested in a number of fields, over several years, to determine if root-knot nematode stress can be detected and managed based on hyper spectral aerial images.

Impact: This new technology permits remote detection of nematode problem areas permitting precision application of nematicide only to problem areas in a field. This will have a positive impact on the Texas cotton farming economy.

Funding Sources: Texas Department of Agriculture

Contact:
Harold Kaufman
Associate Professor
Plant Pathology and Microbiology
Texas A&M Agriculture Program
Phone: 806-746-6101
Fax: 806-746-4057
h-kaufman@tamu.edu
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