Precision Agriculture Technologies for Management of Plant Diseases

Abstract

Plant diseases contribute 10--16{\%} losses in global harvests each year, costing an estimated US{\$} 220 billion. Abundant use of chemicals such as bactericides, fungicides, and nematicides to control plant diseases are causing adverse effects to many agroecosystems. Precision plant protection offers a non-destructive means of managing plant diseases based on the concept of spatio-temporal variability. Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) allow for assessment of field heterogeneity due to disease problems and can enable site-specific intervention. Similarly, hyperspectral remote sensing is a cutting-edge spectral approach for plant diseases detection. The main aim of precision plant protection is to significantly reduce the injudicious use of chemical inputs and hence the adverse impact of chemicals to the environment. This chapter provides some insights into the deployment of site- and time-specific approaches to manage plant disease problems in a balanced and optimized manner.