RIT professor developing drone imaging systems to help farmers monitor grapevine nutrients
A Rochester Institute of Technology professor is helping to develop drone imaging systems aimed at empowering farmers to better manage the nutrients in their vineyards. Professor Jan van Aardt from the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science is receiving more than $357,000 in funding from the United States Department of Agriculture to help grape growers make data-driven nutrient-management decisions.
Van Aardt is part of a large consortium, led by Washington State University, working together to develop the novel approach. Farmers ideally need to analyze the levels of nutrients such as nitrogen, magnesium, potassium, and others to optimize fertilization efforts and subsequent yields, but current methods are expensive, time-consuming, and require destructive chemical analysis of leaves. The ultimate goal is to provide practical sensing tools that can help farmers improve vineyard productivity, berry and wine composition and quality, environmental sustainability, and business profitability.