Growing competition for water is incentivizing the implementation of deficit irrigation. Thus, there is a need to accurately map actual crop evapotranspiration (ETa) to more efficiently manage and document irrigation. An alternative is the use of remote sensing (RS) platforms. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) can fly frequently and acquire very high spatial resolution images. Multispectral UASs (fixed-wing and multi-rotor) flew over irrigated corn fields, in northern Colorado, to evaluate the capabilities of the RS systems on irrigation management. Soil water content sensors were used in the evaluation. Using multispectral UAS platforms in irrigation management is advantageous in regards to having the capability to assess crop water use and stress frequently and at very high spatial resolutions. This study shows that inferring crop water use and soil water status with acceptable errors is possible with visible-near-infrared and thermal cameras. Furthermore, the required imagery processing and calibration is detailed.

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José L. Chávez, Huihui Zhang, Maria Cristina Capurro, Ashish Masih, and Jon Altenhofen, "Evaluation of multispectral unmanned aerial systems for irrigation management," Proc. SPIE 10664, Autonomous Air and Ground Sensing Systems for Agricultural Optimization and Phenotyping III, 106640Q (Presented at SPIE Commercial + Scientific Sensing and Imaging: April 17, 2018; Published: 16 July 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2305076.