Drones For Agriculture

The Indian Institute of Science’s (IISc) Department of Aerospace Engineering has developed drones that can help identify diseases in crops by hovering over the agriculture land.

“Drones can be used to identify diseases in crops. The drones fitted with multi-spectral cameras can be launched over the plantation area. They will capture images of the plants and identify if they are affected by any disease,” said SN Omkar, chief research scientist, Department of Aerospace Engineering.

By using this technology, the early onset of diseases can be detected – thereby helping the farming community.

Omkar said, “We are in touch with agricultural scientists to understand how this method can be used to minimise crop loss.”

The department’s drone laboratory has been granted Rs 10 lakh by the Karnataka IT and BT department’s Karnataka Grand Challenge for Innovation Ideas for coming up with ideas and the drone to identify diseases in crops is one such application.

The department has developed a wide range of drones comprising fixed wing to rotary wing drones.

Surveying of agricultural fields includes plant health monitoring and advising the farming community by giving them information on where the crops are affected. The farmers can use a lesser amount of pesticides and focus on a small area instead of spraying them on the entire field.

Source : http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/