STRENGTHENING SEED GRANT: ADDRESSING THREATS TO POTATO CROP USING PRECISION AGRICULTURE

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1002583
• Grant No.: 2014-69004-21848
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $150,000.00
• Proposal No.: 2013-05727
• Project Start Date: Apr 1, 2014
• Project End Date: Mar 31, 2017
• Grant Year: 2014
• Program Code: [A5151]- Global Food Security: Mitigating Crop and Livestock Losses

Recipient Organization
IDAHO STATE UNIVERSITY
921 S 8TH AVE STOP 8219
POCATELLO,ID 83209-0002

Performing Department
GEOSCIENCES

Non Technical Summary
Potatoes are one of the most important food crops in Idaho and the northwest US that are susceptible to crop pests. Our novel approach is to advance precision agriculture science by utilizing hyperspectral sensors from UAS flights to detect a broader wavelength spectrum that allows discernment between crop health factors. Remote sensing technologies offer the potential to protect U.S. food security by rapid assessments of crop health over large areas. Detected areas can then be prioritized for measures to limit the impact of crop losses. This approach can provide early detection of stress and be used in a preventative manner for crop management strategies.The spatial analysis nature of our proposal has the potential to examine relationship ties to climate change as crop threats expand their range and capacity for long?term impacts into new areas. Once remote sensing techniques are developed they are transferable to similar crops and environments and thus can be rapidly repeated globally.

Animal Health Component

50%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

0%

Applied

50%

Developmental

50%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
212	1310	1120	100%

Knowledge Area
212 - Pathogens and Nematodes Affecting Plants;

Subject Of Investigation
1310 - Potato;

Field Of Science
1120 - Nematology;

Keywords

hyperspectral

pale cyst nematode

precision agriculture

precision pest control

remote sensing

Goals / Objectives
To dramatically expand detection and diagnosis of threats to potato crops in southeast Idaho there is a strong potential for using non-invasive, near-range, high-resolution imagery data obtained by using an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The advantage of using UAS is the capability to scan large areas of potato fields to identify the impacts of crop pests and nutrient deficiencies. In this proposed seed grant project, Idaho State University (ISU), the University of Idaho (UI), Boise State University (BSU) and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) will collect preliminary data that will lead to the development of methodologies to effectively and efficiently detect crop threats with remote sensing using UAS. As an EPSCoR state, this strengthening grant will enable our multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional collaboration to become more competitive for the FY14 AFRI grant application. Our goal aligns directly with the FY 2014 proposed emphasis "to address detection, diagnostics, prevention, and potential impacts of new and emerging diseases and pests of crops and livestock."Our specific objectives are three-fold. Our first objective will be to expand our collaboration to include potato industry stakeholders and regulators specializing in addressing threats to potato crops. As part of strengthening our outreach and extension for a FY 2014 application, we will explore the agricultural industry's response to utilizing UAS-based remote sensing data for crop monitoring. Second, for data collection we intend to initiate test UAS flights with a hyperspectral remote sensing device over potato fields operated by our grower partners and compliment this with simultaneous field scans with a spectrometer. Thirdly, greenhouse data will be rigorously collected with spectroscopy on potato plants that are under stress from crop pests. Our long-term goals are to determine the best methodology for threat detection and the applicability of this technology to cost-effectively inform decision makers and farm producers on the control and mitigation of crop threats and ensure food security by preventing crop losses.

Project Methods
Initial approaches to remote sensing for crop pest detection have focused on using a vegetation index measure known as normalize difference vegetation index (NDVI). NDVI uses a combination of the near infrared and visible red wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. Although NDVI methods provide information on crop health and can be related to crop pests, it is difficult to ascertain differences between potato health conditions due to environmental stressors such as nutrients and water deficiencies or factors due to pest or disease. Our novel approach is to advance the science by utilizing hyperspectral sensors from UAS flights to detect a broader wavelength spectrum that allows discernment between crophealth factors.Field Data Collection:We will fly INL's UAV (Arcturus T, 16 fixed wing UAV for payloads up to 8 kg) carrying the hyperspectral remote sensing camera, the PIKA II, in cooperation with a potato grower, over potato crops near the INL's UAV airfield in Idaho Falls. We will fly two times during the growing season and collect hyperspectral imagery at a range of scales, from 1 m to 7 m. Simultaneously, we will collect ground based field spectroscopy with a fieldspectrometer (Field SpecPro, ASD, Boulder, CO). Selected areas identified from initial scans as 'hotspots' will be re-flown at a higher resolution using an Aibotix X6 hexacopter carrying an infrared camera (7-14 um). Data flown over fields will be compared to spectral responses in thegreenhouse.Field spectroscopy will be collected at the leaf scale as well as at the 1 m scale (including plant and soil spectral mixtures) from 450-2500 nm (approximately 1 nm bandwidths). The leaf scale information will be used to statistically correlate to the greenhouse data collection onstressed and healthy leaves. This information will help us identify the select spectral bands that correlate to detection of potato crop health. Secondly, this information will be used to scale from the leaf to the pixel scale for correlation to the data collected with the PIKA II. The complications with data collection at the UAS scale will include spectral mixing and possible georectification error (Hruska et al., 2012). While the field spectroscopy will be helpful with the spectral mixing (see Mitchell et al., 2012a), the georectification error will be addressed through both coarser scale flights of the UAS and the use of the high resolution hexacopter. The coarser spatial scale flights will absorb georectification issues and will also extend the applicability to larger geographic areas (e.g. coarser spatial scale will allow more efficient data collection). The data from the highresolution hexacopter will be tested for the appropriate spectral applicability (e.g. depends on the spectral range - 7-14 um), but also be used as a high resolution georeferencing system to improve the PIKA II based UAS georectification.Greenhouse Data Collection:The greenhouse spectroscopy will be collected at the leaf scale to identify the spectroscopic characteristics of potato plants under duress.

Progress 04/01/14 to 03/31/17

Outputs
Target Audience:The following list highlights the outreach and extension events that our research team provided over the reporting period. Invited Speaker, Harvard Center for Geographic Analysis: The Drone Revolution in Spatial Analysis, Harvard Center for Geographic Analysis, Cambridge, MA, UAS Hyperspectral Data Analysis, Delparte, D. M. (Presenter & Author), Workshop, National, Academic, April 28, 2017. International audience of approximately 250academics (faculty, students, staff). Oral Presentation, East Idaho Geospatial Regional Meeting, East Idaho Geospatial Resource Center, Pocatello, ID, IdahoView Remote Sensing Consortium and UAS (drone)-based remote sensing research, Delparte, D. M. (Presenter & Author), Other, Regional,Invited January 25, 2017. Audience of approximately 15 local GIS experts from southeast Idaho. Oral Presentation, Idaho Seed Potato Grower's Seminar, Idaho Crop Improvement Association, Pocatello, ID, Assessing Spectral Signatures of Potato Plants Infected with Potato Virus Y, Griffel, M. (Presenter & Author, Graduate Student), Delparte, D. M. (Presenter & Author), Seminar, Regional,January 17, 2017. Audience of approximate 500 regional farmers, producers, industry leaders - key stakeholders for this research effort. Oral Presentation, Far West Agribusiness Association December Conference, Far West Agribusiness Association, Kennewick, WA, Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Hyperspectral Sensors to Assess Crop Health Threats from Potato Virus Y, Delparte, D. M. (Presenter & Author), Conference, Regional, December 14, 2016.Audience of approximate 15 regional farmers, producers, industry leaders. Oral Presentation, Department of Interior - UAS User Group Presentation, DOI, USGS, Webinar, Using Unmanned Aerial Systems and Hyperspectral sensors, Delparte, D. M. (Presenter & Author), Seminar, National, Invited October 5, 2016.Audience of approximately 75 online participants from DOI. Oral Presentation, Wyoming UAV Symposium, AmericaView and WyomingView, Laramie, WY, Using hyperspectral sensors with UAS- for precision agriculture applications, Delparte, D. (Presenter & Author), Conference, Regional, Academic, Invited May 18, 2016. Audience of approximately 250 regional participants from across all sectors - agriculture, industry, private, etc. Oral Presentation, Friends for Learning, ISU, Idaho Falls, ID, Using Unmanned Aircraft Systems for the Geosciences, Delparte, D. M. (Presenter & Author), Seminar, Local, Non-Academic, Invited March 18, 2016.Audience of approximately 75 regionalretired participants Changes/Problems:The research from this project was identified to have commercializable potential by Idaho State University. Over the reporting period, Idaho State Universityhired a consultant whoprovided a report on amarket evaluation (March2017) and a patent lawyer has just completed anitemized list of potential patent applications (May 2017). It is anticipated that a patent application will be submitted this fall 2017. Due to this lengthy evaluation process, our team has delayed the publication of some of our results until a patent is in place. This was an unexpected outcome and we are hoping that once the patent application is secured we can proceed with our planned publications. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training and professional development was provided to three graduate students and one staff person. Two graduate students received one-on-one training in using advanced remote sensing techniques to process hyperspectral data and conduct advanced image analysis for crop health determination. One staff person(recent undergraduate student) applied three treatment conditions to potato plants in a greenhouse and conducted weekly spectroscopy scans.The thrid graduate student completed their thesis research based on the data collected in this project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our broadest outreach to communities of interest was at the annual Potato School meetings in Pocatello, ID on January 17, 2017. Potato seed growers are dealing with the consequences of Potato Virus Y and the lack of treatment options. We presented our research to well over 400 growersat the Seed Potato Grower's Seminar, sponsored by the Idaho Crop Improvement Association inPocatello, ID. Our talk was entitled Assessing Spectral Signatures of Potato Plants Infected with Potato Virus Y. Presenters included recent MS GIS graduate Griffel, M. and Delparte, D. M. This event is one of the largest regional conferences for potato growers. To expand our outreach beyond our regional community we circulated our research efforts with articles in Captial Press and the Spudman magazine. Spudman reaches a national audience and our article with Captial Press was picked up by Associated Press and carried by news outlets around the world. We received numerous inquiries from international researchers and industry leaders about our research efforts to tackle this worldwide problem of PVY in potato crops. Below are the source article links: http://www.capitalpress.com/Idaho/20170120/researchers-program-drone-to-hunt-pvy-in-potatoes http://spudman.com/videos/espudman-december-2016-industry-spotlight/ http://spudman.com/article/uas-spreads-its-wings/ What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Project Impact Statement Potatoes are one of the most important food crops in Idaho and the northwest US that are susceptible to crop pests. This project used Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to evaluate potato field crops with advanced hyperspectral sensors. UAS data was collected at a "leaf-scale" resolution and analyzed against agronomic field scouting and greenhouse data to develop signatures for plant disease and viruses. During this project we established strong partnerships with growers and stakeholders. From this relationship we learned that one of the most pressing concerns for potato growers was that Potato Virus Y (PVY) infection in potatoplants has resulted in significant economic harm to seed producing farmers and has, at times, disrupted seed supplies to commercial growers, especially in varieties with good marketing attributes but high disease susceptibility such as Russet Norkotah (Whitworth, Nolte, et al. 2010). PVY also produces mild or latent symptoms in Russet Norkotah making it more difficult to visually detect (Whitworth, Hamm, et al. 2010). Commercial potato growers rely entirely on seed producers and certification systems to get disease free seed as they have no recourse to mitigate seed-borne PVY after the seed is planted (Alvarez et al. 2003). However, seed growers and certification agencies currently struggle to control PVY infection in the industry's seed pipeline and this has a significant impact on commercial markets. Some of the most recent economic data indicates PVY reduces total potato production in Idaho, a large potato producing state, by about 2.3 million hundred weight (cwt) annually resulting in an approximate loss of $14 million, depending upon current market pricing. The direct cost of PVY to the Idaho economy is about $19.5 million and economic modelling indicates the total impact exceeds $33 million annually (McIntosh et al. 2015). There is currently no means to treat the virus and current practice is only to manually remove plants from seed crops based on visual detection. Unfortunately visual detection is difficult and ineffective. Remote sensing with hyperspectral imagery at a leaf scale using our Unmanned Aircraft Systems, has proven effective at detecting PVY virus in commercial fields. While visually difficult to detect, several bands in the NIR range (invisible to the human eye) have been identified as key markers to detect this virus. We have tested results in the field against controlled experiments in the greenhouse that indicate that other crop threats have differing spectral responses. We believe that our leaf-scale detection of PVY has the potential to contribute significantly towards the reduction of this crop threat. Idaho State University is in the process of pursuing a patent application related to this technology for licensing to commercial operators to detect this virus in the Pacfic Northwest and beyond. Objective 1: to expand our collaboration to include potato industry stakeholders and regulators specializing in addressing threats to potato crops 1) Major activities completed; - Final seminar held with growers and industry stakeholders at the regional Seed Potato Growers meeting in Pocatello, ID on our findings and the potential to detect Potato Virus Y in field conditions using remote sensing (01/17/17) - Media extension in leading Potato crop journals and local media (Spudman and Capital Press) describing our research results 2) Data collected; - Growers are extremely interested in finding a solution to managing Potato Virus Y. Several growers, industry leaders, crop associations and USDA scientists have provided letters of support for further funding to take our results from this study and build an efficient workflow for PVY detection and mitigation. 3) Summary statistics and discussion of results - Grower feedback indicates that the prevalence of PVY in crops in the Pacific Northwest continues to accelerate each year 4) Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized. With grower support we have recently been awarded a State Specialty Crop Grant to continue testing and refining our PVY detection protocols. Objective 2: UAS flights with a multi/hyperspectral remote sensing device over potato fields operated by our grower partners and compliment this with simultaneous field scans with a spectrometer 1) Major activities completed / experiments conducted; - final UAS hyperspectral data flights conducted in 2016 over 120 acres in southeast Idaho during the growing season. - Over 40 PVY infected and 40 control potato plants from the flight areas were marked in the field, sampled and tested in the lab - All 80 plants were scanned with a ground based ASD Fieldspec Pro spectrometer (Analytical Spectral Devices Inc., Boulder Co, USA) 3 times over the growing season. 2) Data collected; - hyperspectral sensor data - Digital Elevation data - PVY infected and control plants identified in the field and multiple ground spectra recordings gathered for each over several time periods. 3) Summary statistics and discussion of results - machine learning was utilized on the spectrometer data to identify key bands necessary for PVY detection. Accuracy rates of up to 80% were achieved based on training data to detect and identify PVY plants. - Based on spectrometer results, the hyperspectral sensor was adjusted to match ideal detection settings. Post image analysis revealed infected plants using a Principal Components Analysis approach. 4) Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized. Master's thesis in Geographic Information Science completed, patent application in progress, 1 publication submitted and 1 publication to be submitted in September 2017. Objective 3: Greenhouse data will be rigorously collected with spectroscopy on potato plants that are under stress from crop pests 1) Major activities completed / experiments conducted; - Discriminate the temporal hyperspectral profile of Potato Virus Y (PVY), pale cyst nematode and Rhizoctonia from their controls. - Discriminate spectral response between plants infected with PVY, pale cyst nematode and Rhizoctonia 2) Data collected; - Hyperspectral reflectances and disease severity were measured weekly on the same days using a fore optic contact probe on a handheld ASD Fieldspec Pro spectrometer. 3) Summary statistics and discussion of results - PVY and Rhizoctonia was inoculated 19 days after planting (DAP), when the leaf was at a stage 6. The biomass data reflects that the PVY plants did indeed suffer from stunted growth in shoot, root, yield weight and root length. Spectral response in Rhizoctonia and PCN differed from PVY scans collected in the field. 4) Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized. Publication in prep for Fall 2017 submission. Alvarez, J. M., Bain, P., Baird, C. R., Bechinski, E. J., Bohl, W. H., Corsini, D. L., et al. (2003). Potato Production Systems. (J. C. Stark & S. L. Love, Eds.). University of Idaho Agricultural Communications. McIntosh, C. S., Aryal, G. R., Watson, P.,& Nolte, P. (2015). State-Wide Impacts of PVY - Idaho. In Montana Seed Potato Seminar. Whitworth, J., Hamm, P., & McIntosh, C. (2010). Effect of potato virus Y on yield of a clonal selection of Russet Norkotah. American Journal of Potato Research, 87(3), 310-314. doi:10.1007/s12230-010-9134-7 Whitworth, J., Nolte, P., Singh, R., Boucher, A., & Xu, H. (2010). Potato Virus Y: An evolving concern for Potato Crops in the United States and Canada. Plant Disease, 94(12), 1384-1397. doi:10.1094/PDIS-02-10-0124

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2018 Citation: Griffel, M., Delparte, D., Edwards, J. A Machine Learning Approach Using Spectral Signatures to Detect Potato Plants Infected with Potato Virus Y. Submitted to Precision Agriculture. Springer.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Dandurand, L-M., Delparte, D., Fosberg, E. Capturing spectral response in Potato Plants to Pale Cyst Nematodes (PCN). Planned submission in Sept 2017 to Phytopathology.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Delparte, D., Griffel, M., Dandurand, L-M. Hyperspectral remote sensing of potato crop threats with Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Planned submission in Sept 2017 for a special UAS edition of the International Journal of Remote Sensing journal.
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Griffel, L.M. 2016. ASSESSING SPECTRAL SIGNATURES OF POTATO PLANTS INFECTED WITH POTATO VIRUS Y. Idaho State University, Department of Geosciences. MS Thesis. 112 pp.

Progress 04/01/14 to 03/31/15

Outputs
Target Audience:In the first year of this strengthening seed grant, we focused our efforts on providing workshops and outreach and extensionforthe local communities, potato growers, and local industry. Workshops As part of our efforts to educate the local community on the potential of Unmanned Aircraft Systems to aid precision agriculture, we worked with local industry (J.R. Simplot) to organize workshop events in rural souteast Idaho. J.R Simplot hosted and advertised the workshops and provided audio-visual support. Participants consisted of local area potato growers, crop advisors, farm workers, and representatives from industry sectors in irrigation, farm equipment, etc. A critical component of the workshops were feedback sessions where we listened and recordedthe growers feedback on key problems they faced for sustainable agricultural production and their thoughts on what would be essential outcomes from this research that would help them solve these challenges. Oral Presentation, Precision Agriculture - St. Anthony, ID, Addressing threats to potato crops using Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Delparte, D. M. (Presenter & Author), Griffel, M. (Presenter & Author, Graduate), Seminar, Local, Non-Academic, Invited July 24, 2014. (25 participants) Oral Presentation, Precision Agriculture - Idaho Falls, ID, Addressing threats to potato crops using Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Delparte, D. M. (Presenter & Author), Griffel, M. (Presenter & Author, Graduate), Seminar, Local, Non-Academic, Invited July 23, 2014. (14 participants) Oral Presentation, Precision Agriculture -Aberdeen, ID, Addressing threats to potato crops using Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Delparte, D. M. (Presenter & Author), Griffel, M. (Presenter & Author, Graduate), Seminar, Local, Non-Academic, Invited July 22, 2014. (32 participants) Extension and Outreach The reports of Unammed Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the media have, to some extent, focused on negative story lines. In order to widely reach out to the loacl communities in which wewere planning to fly UAS, we did a number of media events to highlight the benefits of this technology for agriculture. This exposure ensured that the local community was aware we were operating in the area and increased their interest and curiosity in our research. Internet UNMANNED "UNPLUGGED". (July 2014). http://increasinghumanpotential.org/news/unmanned-unplugged/donna-delparte/ Idaho State University researchers employ unmanned aircraft systems to detect threats to crops in Southeast Idaho. (June 2, 2014). http://commerce.idaho.gov/news/idaho-state-university-researchers-partners-employ-unmanned-aircraft-systems-to-detect-threats-to-crops-in-southeast-idaho Idaho State University researchers, partners employ unmanned aircraft systems to detect threats to crops in Southeast Idaho. (May 30, 2014). http://www.suasnews.com/2014/05/29459/idaho-state-university-researchers-partners-employ-unmanned-aircraft-systems-to-detect-threats-to-crops-in-southeast-idaho/ Idaho State University Researchers Use UAS for Addressing Agricultural Crop Threats. (May 30, 2014). http://www.azorobotics.com/news.aspx?newsID=5753 ISU Press Release. (May 29, 2014). http://www.isu.edu/headlines/?p=6006 Idaho State University is leading a research project that will use unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to create new methods of addressing agricultural crop threats in potato fields. Magazine Improving our Ecological Improvement. (October 2014). Rotor Drone Magazine, Fall 2014, p. 48 Using rotordrones to monitor crop health in Idaho under the auspices of ISU's Department of Geosciences and Dr. Donna Delparte, UAV, remote sensing, photogrammetry & GIS expert Unmanned Aircraft Soon to Launch over Potato Fields. (June 22, 2014). http://www.potatogrower.com/2014/06/unmanned-aircraft-soon-to-launch POCATELLO, Idaho -- Let's face it: Donna Delparte's office is cooler than yours. Period. Newspaper ISU project to use flying drones to aid farmers. (July 2014). http://m.idahostatejournal.com/members/isu-project-to-use-flying-drones-to-aid-farmers/article_45f71c3a-ff6e-11e3-8d52-001a4bcf887a.html?mode=jqm Drones: The coming aerial assault on Idaho farms. (July 16, 2014). http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/07/16/3280762_eyes-in-the-sky.html?rh=1 Idaho State Journal: Drones to Look at Idaho Potato Fields. (June 30, 2014). http://www.boiseweekly.com/CityDesk/archives/2014/06/30/idaho-state-journal-drones-to-look-at-idaho-potato-fields Use of unmanned aerial vehicles is growing in Idaho. (June 24, 2014). http://www.postregister.com/articles/featured-news-todays-headlines/2014/06/24/use-unmanned-aerial-vehicles-growing-idaho Idaho drone project studies potato stress. (May 27, 2014). http://www.capitalpress.com/Idaho/20140527/idaho-drone-project-studies-potato-stress?utm_source=Capital+Press+Newsletters&utm_campaign=bf95ca9ed8-Daily_Ag_Update&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4b7e61b049-bf95ca9ed8-69641909#.U4Zf9fldXkA Radio Idaho Farm and Ranch Show interview. (May 30, 2014). http://590kid.com/2014/05/30/isu-working-drones-farmers/ Precision agriculture is a growing trend among Idaho farmers and my use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and photogrammetry can identify plant stressors, which will lead to improved crop yields with minimal expense compared to other current strategies TV More eyes on potatoes: unmanned aircrafts soon launch over potato fields. (June 16, 2014). http://www.localnews8.com/news/more-eyes-on-potatoes-unmanned-aircrafts-soon-launch-over-potato-fields/26520140 Changes/Problems:One major problem in growing season 2014, was the delay in getting FAA approval for flight operations, which was not in place until late June. These are now secured for the next two years over our growing areas of interest. We had hoped to acquire hyperspectral data in 2014 but this was delayed to this year (2015)as our subawardee partner was not able to provide this service. Idaho State University has subsequently purchased a hyperspectral camera for 2015 and is using this on one of ISU's UAS platforms. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provided professional development for Donna M Delparte to attend: UAS Mapping 2014 in Reno, sponsored by the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Oct 21-22, 2014. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In April 2015 we held two meetingswith participating potato growers to disseminate initial results from summer 2014 growing season and to plan for summer 2015 data collections. We believe that our outreach through news media over the past year has been effective in reachingcommunities in southeast Idaho and beyond to enhance public understanding of the benefits of UAS in sustainable farming and increasing interest in post secondary learning and careers in electronics, robotics, geographic information systems, remote sensing and plant sciences. Please see the Target Audience section for the list of media articles. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1: Collaboration to include potato industry stakeholders and regulators - we will expand our collaboration to include stakeholder regulators Objective 2: UAS flights with a hyperspectral remote sensing device over potato fields - UAS flights with a hyperspectral sensor have been initiated this growing season. Idaho State University has purchased a suitable drone and hyperspectral sensor to complete this task. Subawardees will assist with flying operations. - A new Field Spectrometer has been acquired and we are conducting ground surveys of virus infected plants with this device Obejctive 3: Greenhouse data will be rigorously collected with spectroscopy on potato plants that are under stress from crop pests - Ongoing experminents are underway to discriminate the temporal hyperspectral profile of Potato Virus Y (PVY) - O strain from its control. along with experiments for spectral response for pale cyst nematode and Rhizoctonia.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Project Impact Statement The intent of this project is to use Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to evaluate potato field crops with advanced sensors. The data is collected at a "leaf-scale" resolution and analyzed against agronomic field scouting and greenhouse data to develop signatures for plant disease and nutrient deficiencies. The goal is to develop strategies to quantify, at an individual plant level, these issues to improve agronomic management decisions to improve input efficiencies, water management, and crop nutrition decisions and applications. This should result in improved production, higher profits, and positively benefit sustainable farming practices and food safety. The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) projects that the economic impact of UAS has the potential of creating more than 70,000 jobs and an economic impact of $13.6 billion (http://www.auvsi.org/econreport). The largest demand for UAS activity (80%) will be in Precision Agriculture (~$10B annual future market). Currently the Federal Aviation Administration has been limiting commercial UAS activity. ISU has been granted over 10 COA permits to collect data. Last summer ISU performed over 80 flights related to precision agriculture data collection for this project. By developing a system that can resolve plant stress signatures to a 1-5 cm resolution this can dramatically improving the farmer's ability to manage the health and yield of his crop. Current remote sensing technologies are limited to spatial resolutions of 30 cm and greater depending upon the sensor and platform. UAV platforms equipped with remote sensing instrumentation are providing data at 1 to 5 cm resolution giving us the ability to measure plant spectral signatures at a "leaf scale" but with capabilities of assessing entire fields in a short time. This will facilitate a new level of plant disease and plant nutrition analytics to improve agronomic decision making processes resulting in increasing yields while minimizing crop inputs. As an industry, agriculture is rapidly moving toward UAS-based high-resolution sensors. However, it is difficult to provide a return on investment (ROI) for the grower as research is necessary to develop processes and algorithms to fully realize the value of this data. Currently, many new UAS providers have emerged but few are able to offer any value beyond crop canopy imaging or evaluation of irrigation patterns, something that can be done with current remote sensing technologies. Our deployment of hyperspectral imaging acquisition via UAS, coupled with the development of advanced algorithms to visualize the data and maximize the capture of "actionable data", fills in a real gap in the current industry. For obective 1, Both PI, Donna Delparte and Co-PI Louise Marie Dandurand, have expanded the collaboration of this project to potato industry stakeholders that include growers, industry partners, and will expand this year to include regulators. Objective 2 - PI, Donna Delparte has been leading the data collection of UAS flights over potato crops in southeast Idaho with guidance and assistance from Co-PI Nancy Glenn. Despite a delay in obtaining FAA authorization early in 2014, she collected data over the growing season that was able to pinpoint individual sick plants and monitor the spread of virus from these source plants. This work continues this growing season with additional sensors. Objective 3 - Co-PI Louise-Marie Dandurand has been leading the work in greenhouse spectroscopy on potato plants under stress. She has been conducting experiments on spectral response of plants exposed to a virus that was identified as a topic of concern for growers during stakeholder workshops, a high threatpest nematode species, anda fungus that was prevalent in crops in Idaho in 2014. Objective 1: to expand our collaboration to include potato industry stakeholders and regulators specializing in addressing threats to potato crops 1) Major activities completed; - Workshops held with growers and industry stakeholders - Media extension as describe in the target audience section - Collaboration established with the first Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)commercially approved industry stakeholder for UAS precision agriculture (Empire Unmanned). 2) Data collected; - From the workshops we gathered key information from growers on what the key issues and challenges were for their operations. They quickly identified crop threats of concern that have the potential for identification and mitigation early in the growing season. 3) Summary statistics and discussion of results - Growers identified Potato Virus Y (PVY) as one of their main concerns which we have added to our greenhouse experiments for 2015. 4) Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized. Growers emphasized the need to ensure a return on investment (ROI) strategy was in place for any measures of detection or mitigation strategies. Objective 2: UAS flights with a multi/hyperspectral remote sensing device over potato fields operated by our grower partners and compliment this with simultaneous field scans with a spectrometer 1) Major activities completed / experiments conducted; - over 80 flights conducted in 2014 over four potato crop fields in southeast Idaho from June to September 2014. 2) Data collected; - multispectral sensor data - Digital Elevation data 3) Summary statistics and discussion of results Individual unhealthy plants identified and monitoried through the growing season along with cluster mapping ofthe spread virus from these source plants. 4) Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized. Microtopography (dips and draws) related strongly to crop density, yield and susceptability to disease Objective 3: Greenhouse data will be rigorously collected with spectroscopy on potato plants that are under stress from crop pests 1) Major activities completed / experiments conducted; Discriminate the temporal hyperspectral profile of Potato Virus Y (PVY) -wilga strain from its control. (experiments for spectral response for pale cyst nematode and Rhizoctonia are ongoing) 2) Data collected; Hyperspectral reflectances and disease severity were measured on the same days using a fore optic contact probe on a handheld ASD Fieldspec Pro spectrometer (Analytical Spectral Devices Inc., Boulder Co, USA). 3) Summary statistics and discussion of results PVY was inoculated 19 days after planting (DAP), when the leaf was at a stage 6. The biomass data reflects that the PVY plants did indeed suffer from stunted growth in shoot, root, yield weight and root length. 4) Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized. When looking at the hyperspectral profiles, there was no visible difference between the control and the PVY treatment. This result could be because the PVY strain wilga is known to show almost no symptoms within Russet Burbank (Rowley et al., 2015). For this reason, a repeat experiment will be conducted with the strain PVY-O, which is known to elicit mosaic. Initial spectrometry data from plants in the field in 2015 are showing a difference between infected and control plants.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2015 Citation: Idaho Potato Conference, University of Idaho - Extension, Pocatello, ID, Using Drones to detect potato crop health, Delparte, D. M. (Presenter & Author), Griffel, M. (Presenter & Author, Graduate), Conference, Regional, Non-Academic, Accepted, January 21, 2015.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Pecora 19, ASPRS, Denver, Colorado, Addressing Threats to Agriculture Using UAS and Advanced Remote Sensing Techniques, Delparte, D. M., Conference, International, Academic, Accepted, November 18, 2014.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Oral Presentation, Colloquia, Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno, University of Nevada, Reno, Flying drones for scientific data collection - the highs and lows, Delparte, D. M., Seminar, Regional, Academic, Invited October 23, 2014.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Oral Presentation, The Wildlife Society Conference, The Wildlife Society Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, Applications of Small UAS for Multispectral Landcover Assessments, Delparte, D. M., Conference, International, Academic, Invited October 27, 2014.