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Targeted application of crop protection products using GIS and remote sensing
W. Bills, D. Mackay, A. Melnitchouck, B. Nicol, C. Paterson, C. Stevenson, D. Waldner
Bayer, Digital Farming

Most of the fields in various agricultural regions have significant variability. This results in substantial difference between different parts of the fields in risk of diseases, pest pressure and density of crop canopy. The range of both leaf area index (LAI) and yield potential across fields can often exceed 500%. This means that crop protection products being applied at a constant rate demonstrate different efficiency, level of risk management, and return on investment (ROI) in different zones within the same field. In most cases, areas with higher yield potential and crop canopy density have higher risk of certain diseases, and suffer from more substantial yield loss. Areas with the lower canopy development have lower yield potential, lower risk of diseases related to air humidity, and low ROI from using crop protection. To address this problem, we offered zone-based application of crop protection products based on multispectral satellite imagery analysis. Imagery, taken at the peak of the growing season, was used to identify areas with higher and lower crop canopy density. Web-based software tools were developed to streamline the analytics and creation of prescription files for field equipment. On average, using this technology in canola in Western Canada showed that approximately 78% of the total area included in this study required application of fungicides to prevent development of Sclerotinia stem rot in canola. Based on the results of our analysis, approximately 22% of the areas within fields were excluded from application. Economic efficiency of this technology consisted of two parts: cost savings in the areas with lower yield potential (approximately $50 per ha on excluded areas), and yield increase in the areas with higher risk of disease (approximately $50 per ha in those areas). This large on-farm study showed multiple benefits of targeted application of crop protection, leading to efficient and sustainable farming practices.

Keyword: Precision Ag, variable rate technology, crop protection, satellite imagery
W. Bills    D. Mackay    A. Melnitchouck    B. Nicol    C. Paterson    C. Stevenson    D. Waldner    Precision Crop Protection    Oral    2018