A variety of Texas A and M agencies and over 30 scientists are working with drones to take agriculture to the next level.
Team members of the Texas A&M Coordinated Agricultural Unmanned Aerial Systems Project met last month to show what progress has been made on their project, which began less than a year ago.
Alex Thomasson, AgriLife Research agricultural engineer said the work contributes to two research goals.
“One aspect is in agricultural production where we would use the images collected from these drones to determine the differences across the field in terms of the stress levels of plants and so forth, and be able to make decisions about what to do about those stresses,” said Thomasson.
The other goal, which is more research oriented, is to use drones for high-throughput phenotyping.
“We’re trying to help breeders be able to select crops for improved crop capabilities, we are trying to help them do that more quickly,” said Thomasson.
The group started flying drones last summer and has spent the last eight months making adjustments to their research methods.
Dr. Thomasson said similar research is being done elsewhere in the country, but their group dynamic makes them unique.
“We’ve got multiple agencies, multiple parts of the university involved and a lot of scientists all working very well together,” he said.
Dr. Thomasson said these advancements can make commercial practices more efficient.
Click below to hear comments from Alex Thomasson visiting with WTAW’s Chelsea Reber.