U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2002





- ARS News & Events
- AgResearch Magazine
- Image Gallery
- News
- Search News & Events
- Pesticide Drift May Endanger Pollinators
- ARS Seeks a Fire Ant Fix
- Scientific Discoveries 2024
- ARS Featured Photos
- Down on the Farm
- Facebook Live Events
- Food and Nutrition Research Briefs
- News Archive
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Social Media
- Under the Microscope
- AgResearch magazine
- ARS at Work
- ARS Memorial Lectures
- ARS Science Hall of Fame
- Citrus Disease (Huanglongbing)
- Contact Office of Communications
- Plant Hardiness Zone Map
- Mobile Apps
- Public Affairs Contacts
- Publications and Other Resources
- USDA Blog
- Videos

Archived Page
 This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
 New Thermal Remote Sensing System Scans Crops By Jim CoreJuly 2, 2002 Changes in a crop canopy's temperature may give scientists the most complete picture of how much water stress the plants are experiencing during drought, according to Agricultural Research Service scientists. Previously, researchers have gauged drought stress using sensors to measure the water pressure of individual leaves removed from the plant, or the sap flow through the plant stem. They've also monitored soil moisture to determine crop water use and to schedule irrigation. While these methods are reasonably reliable, they are time consuming and costly. Now scientists at the ARS Application and Production Technology Research Unit in Stoneville, Miss., report that changes in canopy temperature may be a more reliable indicator of water stress because canopy temperature rises as water stress increases. Evaluating the entire plant canopy gives a more complete picture of a crop’s health than one gets from measuring a single leaf from the top of a plant, according to Plant Physiologist Gretchen Sassenrath-Cole. She and her colleagues are collaborating with H. C. “Lyle” Pringle, a Mississippi State University scientist located at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville. They developed an unobtrusive tracking system that uses thermal sensors to remotely monitor canopy water stress and temperature. The system can be rapidly deployed and positioned at various levels, measuring individual leaves or entire canopy elements. Sensors are located at the end of a boom attached to a rotating yoke. The entire pivoting system is connected to a tower mounted on the front rack of an all-terrain vehicle. The boom, engineered by Sassenrath-Cole and technician Ray Adams, is raised or lowered over the canopy by a hydraulic cylinder to focus the sensors on a specific area. Data and images from a video camera are simultaneously downloaded to an on-board computer. Read more about this research in the July issue of Agricultural Research magazine. ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific research agency.


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov