On-going research experiments and lab tests improve our ability to identify various crop stresses with spectral imagery. The more flight surveys and ground-based measurements we perform, the more accurate our analyses become. Our growing database of spectral imagery and other data allow us to provide our customers with reliable information to enhance farming decisions.
After every Spectral Solutions flight survey, we’ll provide:
- Interactive maps with info from our analyses
- Detailed reports summarizing insights from our spectral imagery
- Recommendations from our team of growers, scientists and consultants
Measure crop health and growth performance to improve management decisions.
Identify regions of stress and the type of stress (water, nutrients, pests/disease).
With every flight survey, we monitor crop health throughout the varying stages of the plant’s life cycle. Patterns in the light spectra reflected off of the plant allow us to track and identify changes in the plant’s growth behavior. While some stresses are easier to identify than others (e.g. water vs. nutrients), the more data we collect over a given crop in a specific field, the better and faster we’re able to determine the sources of plant stress.
Measure and compare plant- and soil-moisture content to irrigation practices and plant growth behavior.
Identify irrigation problems and the associated effects with our data and elevation models.
We calibrate our airborne surveys with ground-based measurements to determine baseline levels for dry and irrigated crops and soils – no environment is the same. Once we’ve validated our imagery, we can estimate plant and soil-moisture content based on water absorption features detectable by our sensors.
Identify crops affected by various nutrient deficiencies. Determine the extent of nutrient stresses for variable fertilizer applications and other nutrient management practices.
Careful research and spectral analyses allow us to detect a variety of nutrient deficiencies in plants. From macro-nutrients, like nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K), to micro-nutrients like calcium (Ca), molybdenum (Mo) and copper (Cu). We carefully analyze and compare our data with peer-reviewed and ongoing research to improve our methods and best identify nutrient deficiencies.
Locate pest outbreaks early to minimize losses.
Identify hotspots for immediate attention and proper management.
From gopher mounds to insect-related damage, our flight surveys detect most pest-related issues faster and more reliably than the human eye. Characteristic spectral patterns allow us to quickly identify and roughly estimate the number of pests present in a field. As our pest research continues, we’ll be able to more accurately detect problems and pests.
Locate disease outbreaks early and track rates of propagation.
Identify hotspots for immediate attention or zones to keep an eye on.
From leafroll to red blotch, powdery mildew and other diseases, we try to identify them all. Some are more detrimental than others and require more immediate attention. Some are easier to manage and just need to be monitored. Whatever the issue may be, we aim to provide fast and accurate assessments of the presence and spread of crop-related diseases. Root and stem-related diseases are more difficult to detect from flight surveys, however, some of our future research goals hope to address that problem.
Locate and monitor invasive plant species.
Measure abundance to enhance management decisions.
Our sensors and analyses enable us to differentiate between various species of plants. Many invasive plant species have characteristic reflectance patterns that make it easy for our equipment to detect and measure where they are located in a field and how much area they cover.