Patent ID: 6466321
Filing Date: 2002-10-15
Classification: A01G,G01N,G06T

Abstract:
A method of diagnosing nutritious condition of crop in a fixed area in a plant field under exposure to natural light, said method comprising the steps of:measuring reflectivity of light which comes from a predetermined crop in said plant field and whose wavelengths have relation to crop information which increases or decreases depending on growth of crop; obtaining first crop information of said predetermined crop by applying said measured reflectivity to a first crop related formula established in advance for obtaining crop information from reflectivity, and storing said first crop information; irradiating a leaf blade of said predetermined crop, and measuring light amount of at least either one of transmitted light and reflected light whose wavelengths have relation to crop information which increases or decreases depending on growth of crop; obtaining second crop information of said predetermined crop by applying said measured light amount to a second crop related formula established in advance for obtaining crop information from light amount, and storing said second crop information; calculating a difference between said first crop information and said second crop information; measuring reflectivity of light from unknown crop in said same plant field, whose wavelengths of light have relation to crop information which increases or decreases depending on growth of crop; obtaining said first crop information of said unknown crop by applying said measured reflectivity of said unknown crop to said first crop related formula; correcting said first crop information of said unknown crop based on said difference; and determining the nutritious condition of said unknown crop in said plant field based on said corrected first crop information.