Lambert, J.P.T., Hicks, H.L., Childs, D.Z. et al. (1 more author) (2018) Evaluating the potential of unmanned aerial systems for mapping weeds at field scales: a case study with Alopecurus myosuroides. Weed Research, 58 (1). pp. 35-45. ISSN 0043-1737
Abstract
Summary: Mapping weed densities within crops has conventionally been achieved either by detailed ecological monitoring or by field walking, both of which are time-consuming and expensive. Recent advances have resulted in increased interest in using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to map fields, aiming to reduce labour costs and increase the spatial extent of coverage. However, adoption of this technology ideally requires that mapping can be undertaken automatically and without the need for extensive ground-truthing. This approach has not been validated at large scale using UAS-derived imagery in combination with extensive ground-truth data. We tested the capability of UAS for mapping a grass weed, Alopecurus myosuroides, in wheat crops. We addressed two questions: (i) can imagery accurately measure densities of weeds within fields and (ii) can aerial imagery of a field be used to estimate the densities of weeds based on statistical models developed in other locations? We recorded aerial imagery from 26 fields using a UAS. Images were generated using both RGB and R mod (R mod 670-750 nm) spectral bands. Ground-truth data on weed densities were collected simultaneously with the aerial imagery. We combined these data to produce statistical models that (i) correlated ground-truth weed densities with image intensity and (ii) forecast weed densities in other fields. We show that weed densities correlated with image intensity, particularly R mod image data. However, results were mixed in terms of out of sample prediction from field-to-field. We highlight the difficulties with transferring models and we discuss the challenges for automated weed mapping using UAS technology.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 The Authors Weed Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Weed Research Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | black-grass; distribution; drones; modelling; precision agriculture; site-specific weed management; wheat |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) > Department of Animal and Plant Sciences (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL (BBSRC) BB/L001489/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 21 Dec 2017 09:53 |
Last Modified: | 15 Dec 2023 09:58 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/wre.12275 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:125091 |