Prospects of improving agricultural and water productivity through unmanned aerial vehicles

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are an alternative to costly and time-consuming traditional methods to improve agricultural water management and crop productivity through the acquisition, processing, and analyses of high-resolution spatial and temporal crop data at field scale. UAVs mounted with mul...

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Main Authors: Nhamo, Luxon, Magidi, J., Nyamugama, A., Clulow, A.D., Sibanda, M., Chimonyo, Vimbayi Grace Petrova, Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: MDPI 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109693
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author Nhamo, Luxon
Magidi, J.
Nyamugama, A.
Clulow, A.D.
Sibanda, M.
Chimonyo, Vimbayi Grace Petrova
Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe
author_browse Chimonyo, Vimbayi Grace Petrova
Clulow, A.D.
Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe
Magidi, J.
Nhamo, Luxon
Nyamugama, A.
Sibanda, M.
author_facet Nhamo, Luxon
Magidi, J.
Nyamugama, A.
Clulow, A.D.
Sibanda, M.
Chimonyo, Vimbayi Grace Petrova
Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe
author_sort Nhamo, Luxon
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are an alternative to costly and time-consuming traditional methods to improve agricultural water management and crop productivity through the acquisition, processing, and analyses of high-resolution spatial and temporal crop data at field scale. UAVs mounted with multispectral and thermal cameras facilitate the monitoring of crops throughout the crop growing cycle, allowing for timely detection and intervention in case of any anomalies. The use of UAVs in smallholder agriculture is poised to ensure food security at household level and improve agricultural water management in developing countries. This review synthesises the use of UAVs in smallholder agriculture in the smallholder agriculture sector in developing countries. The review highlights the role of UAV derived normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) in assessing crop health, evapotranspiration, water stress and disaster risk reduction. The focus is to provide more accurate statistics on irrigated areas, crop water requirements and to improve water productivity and crop yield. UAVs facilitate access to agro-meteorological information at field scale and in near real-time, important information for irrigation scheduling and other on-field decision-making. The technology improves smallholder agriculture by facilitating access to information on crop biophysical parameters in near real-time for improved preparedness and operational decision-making. Coupled with accurate meteorological data, the technology allows for precise estimations of crop water requirements and crop evapotranspiration at high spatial resolution. Timely access to crop health information helps inform operational decisions at the farm level, and thus, enhancing rural livelihoods and wellbeing.
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spelling CGSpace1096932025-03-11T09:50:20Z Prospects of improving agricultural and water productivity through unmanned aerial vehicles Nhamo, Luxon Magidi, J. Nyamugama, A. Clulow, A.D. Sibanda, M. Chimonyo, Vimbayi Grace Petrova Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe agricultural productivity water productivity unmanned aerial vehicles water management plant health crop yield monitoring vegetation index remote sensing evapotranspiration water stress irrigation scheduling mapping smallholders farmers models disaster risk reduction resilience satellite imagery cost benefit analysis Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are an alternative to costly and time-consuming traditional methods to improve agricultural water management and crop productivity through the acquisition, processing, and analyses of high-resolution spatial and temporal crop data at field scale. UAVs mounted with multispectral and thermal cameras facilitate the monitoring of crops throughout the crop growing cycle, allowing for timely detection and intervention in case of any anomalies. The use of UAVs in smallholder agriculture is poised to ensure food security at household level and improve agricultural water management in developing countries. This review synthesises the use of UAVs in smallholder agriculture in the smallholder agriculture sector in developing countries. The review highlights the role of UAV derived normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) in assessing crop health, evapotranspiration, water stress and disaster risk reduction. The focus is to provide more accurate statistics on irrigated areas, crop water requirements and to improve water productivity and crop yield. UAVs facilitate access to agro-meteorological information at field scale and in near real-time, important information for irrigation scheduling and other on-field decision-making. The technology improves smallholder agriculture by facilitating access to information on crop biophysical parameters in near real-time for improved preparedness and operational decision-making. Coupled with accurate meteorological data, the technology allows for precise estimations of crop water requirements and crop evapotranspiration at high spatial resolution. Timely access to crop health information helps inform operational decisions at the farm level, and thus, enhancing rural livelihoods and wellbeing. 2020-07-01 2020-09-30T10:34:16Z 2020-09-30T10:34:16Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109693 en Open Access MDPI Nhamo, Luxon; Magidi, J.; Nyamugama, A.; Clulow, A. D.; Sibanda, M.; Chimonyo, V. G. P.; Mabhaudhi, T. 2020. Prospects of improving agricultural and water productivity through unmanned aerial vehicles. Agriculture, 10(7):256. doi: 10.3390/agriculture10070256
spellingShingle agricultural productivity
water productivity
unmanned aerial vehicles
water management
plant health
crop yield
monitoring
vegetation index
remote sensing
evapotranspiration
water stress
irrigation scheduling
mapping
smallholders
farmers
models
disaster risk reduction
resilience
satellite imagery
cost benefit analysis
Nhamo, Luxon
Magidi, J.
Nyamugama, A.
Clulow, A.D.
Sibanda, M.
Chimonyo, Vimbayi Grace Petrova
Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe
Prospects of improving agricultural and water productivity through unmanned aerial vehicles
title Prospects of improving agricultural and water productivity through unmanned aerial vehicles
title_full Prospects of improving agricultural and water productivity through unmanned aerial vehicles
title_fullStr Prospects of improving agricultural and water productivity through unmanned aerial vehicles
title_full_unstemmed Prospects of improving agricultural and water productivity through unmanned aerial vehicles
title_short Prospects of improving agricultural and water productivity through unmanned aerial vehicles
title_sort prospects of improving agricultural and water productivity through unmanned aerial vehicles
topic agricultural productivity
water productivity
unmanned aerial vehicles
water management
plant health
crop yield
monitoring
vegetation index
remote sensing
evapotranspiration
water stress
irrigation scheduling
mapping
smallholders
farmers
models
disaster risk reduction
resilience
satellite imagery
cost benefit analysis
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109693
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