Thrust Area: Minimizing Crop Stress/Maximizing Production via Remote Sensing

Objective: Conduct core research to use remote sensing technology to determine the requirements for detection of interrelated stresses to crops, including weed and insect pressure and plant nutrient requirements.

User requirement identification process. The Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES) Advanced Spatial Technologies for Agriculture (ASTA) research project supported by USDA-CSREES for the past three years has focused on research to improve site-specific crop management (often called "precision agriculture"). This project has laid the groundwork for incorporating remote sensing as a viable tool for crop management through developing research infrastructure, and through associations with agricultural equipment manufacturers, crop and technology consultants, and producers. As a part of this effort, MAFES scientists have worked with the MSU-Extension Service (MSU-ES) program, Soybean Management through Applications of Research and Technology (SMART) in heavily monitoring producer fields for crop stress of any type. The MCARS, a project funded in 1998 by NASA, has focused on generating specific, baseline data on needs assessments and observability of phenomena that can be detected through remote sensing. Mississippi commodity organizations such as the Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board and the Mississippi Rice Promotion Board have strongly supported development of research programs in site-specific crop management and remote sensing applications in agriculture, both through end-user input and research funding. End-user listening sessions and one-on-one discussions with key producers such as Mr. Kenneth Hood of Perthshire Farms has provided the initial guidance on directions for remote sensing research in agriculture. Producers such as Hood enable valuable "side-by-side" observations of the same phenomena in two settings, the commercial field and the controlled university "small plot" settings.

Relationship to cross-cutting areas. Cross-disciplinary linkages at MSU have already been established with the NSF ERC through research sponsored by ASTA and MCARS for novel image analysis and data visualization techniques. MAFES scientists have also discussed with the Raspet Flight Research Laboratory linkages necessary to develop the appropriate aerial platforms necessary to support research activities. The MSU-ES has been integrally involved in end-user surveys, and is thus well-prepared to initiate workforce development activities through their extension programming. Educational programming has also begun through formal college classroom instruction (in several MSU departments), secondary and junior/community college curriculum development (by the MSU RCU), and undergraduate/graduate educational opportunities (with the MSU SSRC).

Industry Partnerships. MSU has also developed linkages with key companies in the remote sensing and spatial industries such as Waggoner Engineering, Bell Technologies, and Spectral Visions. Contacts have also been made with a number of other companies, including 3-D Imaging, Raytheon Corp., Science and Technology International, Geophysical and Environmental Research Corp., as well as a number of site-specific agricultural equipment manufacturers.

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