[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6356\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EEyes in the sky to help farmers with weed control\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s part of a move towards so-called precision farming, where farmers use equipment to monitor their crops and respond to issues when and where they occur, rather than applying blanket solutions to an entire field.\u003Cdiv class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-bg-bluelightest tw-p-12 tw-my-12 tw--mx-16\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3 class=\u0022tw-font-sans tw-font-bold tw-text-blue tw-uppercase tw-text-lg tw-mb-8\u0022\u003EThe Issue\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-inline-block tw-w-1\/6 tw-h-1 tw-bg-blue tw-mb-8\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EThe dangers of excessive pesticide use on the environment can be traced back to the 1962 book \u2018Silent Spring\u2019 by Rachel Carson, which has been\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/orgprints.org\/22934\/7\/22934.pdf\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ecredited\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;as starting the modern conservation movement.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe EU now applies\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/food\/animals\/live_animals\/bees\/pesticides\/index_en.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Erestrictions\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;to certain pesticides containing neonicotinoids, which have been linked with the collapse of honey bee populations throughout Europe.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2014, an EU study highlighted the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/RegData\/etudes\/note\/join\/2014\/529049\/IPOL-AGRI_NT(2014)529049_EN.pdf\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ebenefits\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;of precision farming. Using this method can reduce pesticide and fertiliser runoff, which can greatly damage the local environment.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Jos\u00e9 M. Pe\u00f1a of the Institute for Sustainable Agriculture in Cordoba, Spain, ran the EU-funded TOAS project, in which drones were flown over crops to create weed infestation maps for farmers so they could pinpoint which areas to treat.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In Europe, 60 % of the pesticides we apply are herbicides to control the weeds,\u2019 said Dr Pe\u00f1a. \u2018(With) the technology applied in the crop we can radically reduce the use of these chemicals, and that is a benefit for the environment and the farmer.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Pe\u00f1a and his team used drones and image analysis technology, which detects slight differences in field colour, to discover vegetation and competitive weeds. However, weeds and budding crops can appear similar in the early season, when crops are at their most vulnerable.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe solution involved examining crop patterns alongside images. \u2018We know the crop follows a pattern, and the vegetation that is out of this pattern is classified as weeds,\u2019 said Dr Pe\u00f1a.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018So in this way we can integrate the spectral information (and) also the position and the shape of the plants in the software to detect those ones that are weeds.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFarmers can then apply weedkiller to specific areas, monitor the evolution of their crops over time, and create a photorealistic 3D map of their field by taking aerial pictures from multiple views.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EArticle continues below\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Researchers programmed drones to recognise weeds outside normal crop patterns. Image courtesy of TOAS\u0022 height=\u0022237\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/crop%20patterns.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Researchers programmed drones to recognise weeds outside normal crop patterns. Image courtesy of TOAS\u0022 width=\u0022600\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EResearchers programmed drones to recognise weeds outside normal crop patterns. Image courtesy of TOAS\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMaize, olives\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter firstly analysing maize fields and olive groves, the team later found the technology worked for other crops such as sunflowers, almonds and grapes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This demonstrates that the technology and the project can go further than the original idea,\u2019 said Dr Pe\u00f1a. \u2018As well, we attained a very high accuracy \u2013 we can detect more than 95 % of the weeds in the fields. One important thing is that we can detect the parts of the crop field where it\u2019s free of infestation. This place is the part where the farmer does not have to apply the herbicide.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESpotting the weeds is just one half of the task, though, and researchers elsewhere are developing unmanned ground vehicles, or rovers, that can complete the job by getting rid of the weeds.\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018We can radically reduce the use of these chemicals, and that is a benefit for the environment and the farmer.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Jos\u00e9 M. Pe\u00f1a, Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, Spain \u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018What we are doing is really demonstrating that it can be done fully automatically,\u2019 said Prof. Roland Siegwart of ETH Zurich, Switzerland, who leads an EU-funded \u003Cspan\u003Erobotics\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003Eproject called \u003Cspan\u003EFLOURISH\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003Eto develop a prototype of an integrated drone and rover system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy scanning different crop characteristics, such as height and canopy cover, the drone can communicate the areas that need attention to the unmanned rover on the ground. The rover then removes the weeds, applies pesticide to a specific area, or highlights areas that may need extra fertiliser to the farmer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Siegwart says that this could lead to much more efficient use of pesticides.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I would estimate it\u2019s probably a very small fraction of a percent of all chemicals which are sprayed on the field which really has an impact,\u2019 he said. \u2018If we have more information you can actually, hopefully, get to a much higher efficiency. With probably 100 times less chemistry put on the field you have exactly the same effect.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIncreased research in agricultural technology may also have the added benefit of removing some stigma about drone technology itself as it helps to solve problems such as how to produce enough food for a growing population.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Typically we say that around 20-30 % of the whole collection of food on the field is already lost because there are some issues on the field. If you can reduce this it can really help to feed the world\u2019s society.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-siak7eyjhqgif2wmuuydgii42qxgagrhk3x4taxqbau\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-SIAK7EyJHqGiF2WmUUydgii42qXgaGrhK3x4TaXQbAU\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]