US: Quick and early disease detection by drones with hyperspectral camera

Idaho State University researchers have found high-tech cameras mounted on drones flying 60 meters above potato fields can effectively detect individual diseased and stressed plants. Furthermore, greenhouse testing by University of Idaho plant pathologist Louise-Marie Dandurand, using the same advanced sensors to assess diseased plants, has confirmed specific crop ailments, such as nematode feeding or potato virus Y infection, can be differentiated by studying a plant’s “spectral signature.” The researchers, led by ISU assistant geosciences professor Donna Delparte, intend to use those signatures to develop algorithms for quickly identifying crop ailments detected by multi-spectral and more sensitive hyper-spectral cameras. More