By combining artificial intelligence and sensors that can see beyond visible light, Arkansas researchers have developed a system that exceeds human discernment when it comes to measuring herbicide-induced stress in plants.
Scientists with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the U of A System Division of Agriculture, recently published a study in Smart Agricultural Technology providing proof-of-concept that hyperspectral sensors, like a spectroradiometer, can help in quantifying herbicide effectiveness, a critical element of weed management that helps curb herbicide resistance.
While normal cameras use three visible light bands red, green and blue to create images in the spectral range of 380 to 750 nanometers, hyperspectral sensing captures bands ranging from 250 nanometers to 2,500 nanometers and thermal infrared.
The researchers used this technology to evaluate how common lambsquarters responded to glyphosate. They also turned up empirical evidence that photosynthesis in the plant actually increased when exposed to a sub-lethal dose of the herbicide. Common lambsquarters Chenopodium album L. is a weed in agricultural and garden settings.
Source : uark.edu