OPTICAL IMAGING SYSTEM FOR WEED MAPPING
Problem Statement
The management of invasive plants and weeds is an expensive problem faced by agriculture. Typically weeds are managed through the application of herbicides; these herbicides, however, are not 100% effective and some weeds will survive and continue to grow in the crop.
The purpose of this project is to map problem areas of weeds in large fields of grain crops (wheat or barley). By mapping these problem areas we will be able to provide farmers with valuable information regarding their management of weeds. Using this information farmers will be able to perform spot applications of herbicides and track the management of weeds over a several year period.
To map these problem areas we will be using a GPS capable NDVI imaging system. NDVI or Normalized Difference Vegetation Index is an imaging processing product that is able to distinguish between weeds and ripe crops. During harvest, ripe crops such as barley and wheat are a uniform yellow/brown color, while weeds are often still alive and green, which makes harvest a practical time to use image processing.
The management of invasive plants and weeds is an expensive problem faced by agriculture. Typically weeds are managed through the application of herbicides; these herbicides, however, are not 100% effective and some weeds will survive and continue to grow in the crop.
The purpose of this project is to map problem areas of weeds in large fields of grain crops (wheat or barley). By mapping these problem areas we will be able to provide farmers with valuable information regarding their management of weeds. Using this information farmers will be able to perform spot applications of herbicides and track the management of weeds over a several year period.
To map these problem areas we will be using a GPS capable NDVI imaging system. NDVI or Normalized Difference Vegetation Index is an imaging processing product that is able to distinguish between weeds and ripe crops. During harvest, ripe crops such as barley and wheat are a uniform yellow/brown color, while weeds are often still alive and green, which makes harvest a practical time to use image processing.