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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Aerial Application Technology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #343097
Title: Site-specific management of cotton root rot using airborne and high resolution satellite imagery and variable rate technology

Author
item Yang, Chenghai
item ODVODY, GARY - Texas A&M Agrilife
item THOMASSON, JOHN - Texas A&M University
item ISAKEIT, THOMAS - Texas A&M University
item MINZENMAYER, RICHARD - Bayer Corporation
item DAVID, DRAKE - Texas A&M Agrilife
item NICHOLS, ROBERT - Cotton, Inc

Submitted to: Transactions of the ASABE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/18/2018
Publication Date: 8/20/2018
Citation: Yang, C., Odvody, G., Thomasson, J., Isakeit, T., Minzenmayer, R., David, D., Nichols, R. 2018. Site-specific management of cotton root rot using airborne and high resolution satellite imagery and variable rate technology. Transactions of the ASABE. 61(3):849-858. https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.12563.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.12563

Interpretive Summary: Cotton root rot is a century-old cotton disease that can now be effectively controlled with a fungicide. As this disease tends to occur in the same general areas within fields year after year, site-specific application of the fungicide only to the infested areas can be more effective and economical than uniform application to the whole field. This research demonstrated how site-specific fungicide application could be implemented based on historical remote sensing imagery and variable rate technology. Two years of field experiments showed that prescription maps from historical airborne and high resolution satellite imagery and variable rate systems adapted to existing tractors/planters performed well and that site-specific fungicide treatments reduced fungicide use by 40-60%. The methodologies and results of this research will provide cotton growers, crop consultants, and agricultural dealers with practical guidelines for implementing site-specific fungicide application using historical imagery and variable rate technology for effective management of cotton root rot.

Technical Abstract: Cotton root rot is a century-old cotton disease that can now be effectively controlled with Topguard Terra Fungicide. As this disease tends to occur in the same general areas within fields in recurring years, site-specific application of the fungicide only to the infested areas can be more effective and economical than uniform application. The objectives of this research were to demonstrate how site-specific fungicide application could be implemented based on historical remote sensing imagery and variable rate technology. Procedures were developed for creating binary prescription maps from historical airborne and high resolution satellite imagery. Two different variable rate liquid control systems were adapted to two existing cotton planters, respectively, for site-specific fungicide application at planting. One system was used for site-specific application on multiple fields in 2015 and 2016 near Edroy, Texas and the other system on multiple fields in both years near San Angelo, Texas. Airborne multispectral imagery taken during the two growing seasons was used to monitor the performance of the site-specific treatments. Results based on prescription maps derived from historical airborne and satellite imagery on two fields in 2015 and one field in 2016 are reported in the paper. Two years of field experiments showed that the prescription maps and the variable rate systems performed well and site-specific fungicide treatments effectively controlled cotton root rot. Reduction in fungicide use was 41%, 43%, and 63% for the three fields, respectively. The methodologies and results of this research will provide cotton growers, crop consultants, and agricultural dealers with practical guidelines for implementing site-specific fungicide application using historical imagery and variable rate technology for effective management of cotton root rot.