Share | 05/04/2020
First introduced to Chile in the mid-1980s, blueberry cultivation has seen exponential growth throughout the country due to the growing worldwide demand for the crop. However, farming blueberries in Chile has become increasingly challenging due to longer and more frequent drought episodes.
Because of its superficial root system, blueberry bushes require adequate distribution of water within the soil, meaning farmers must ensure proper irrigation at all times. Therefore, agricultural managers and growers in Chile are trying new technologies to better manage water usage during dry periods. One such group is nutriGIS, an agricultural service provider. In an effort to better monitor the water intake of their blueberry fields, they captured imagery with the MicaSense series Altum and used a specialized index to analyze the data.
nutriGIS chose the MicaSense series Altum 3-in-1 sensor (thermal, multispectral, RGB composite) because it not only provided the team with information on the general health of the crop but also allowed them to map the canopy temperature of the whole blueberry field, revealing sectors with signs of water stress.
With the goal of diagnosing -through thermography- sectors with high and low signs of water stress, nutriGIS mapped a field of 1.2 hectares with a drip irrigation system.
Through the canopy temperature obtained with the MicaSense series Altum, nutriGIS calculated the CWSI (Crop Water Stress Index) index of the field.
Temperature is a very important indicator when it comes to evaluating stress in crops. At higher temperatures, plants close their stomata to avoid the loss of water when water conditions are scarce and plants are under severe drought. However, this, in turn, causes the plant’s temperature to increase due to low gas exchange, slowing the thermal stability in leaves.
Among other factors, hydric stress can be also caused by moisture retention at the radical level and soil compaction. Thus, soil samples are necessary in order to obtain a precise diagnosis and to design an adequate irrigation plan.
The results were conclusive: the use of a drone equipped with the MicaSense series Altum allowed the team to monitor all the plants in the field in just one flight, highlighting and geolocating the areas of high stress.
The team also confirmed that the canopy temperature has a direct relation to the vigor of the crop, since the less vigorous bushes also presented the highest water stress, as shown in the CWSI, NDVI, and NDRE maps.
“With the use of a powerful tool like the MicaSense series Altum, it was possible to advance in the deep tillage to lose and break up compacted soil in areas of high water stress, in addition to the application of organic matter to favor growth conditions.”
The use of a thermal and multispectral sensor proved to be an integrated solution to support environmental sustainability while monitoring advanced water issues, helping the water to be absorbed and not wasted, as well as avoiding excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizers.
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