AUG crop growth stage estimation technology with AAFC:

• * Prestigious project under AAFC’s AgriInnovation Program for crop management and disease risk assessment
• * Project to provide a commercial tool to facilitate sustainable agriculture management, pest and disease mitigation and resource planning
• * Project will benefit large and small farming operations and also strengthens Canada’s expertise and international competitiveness in agriculture sector

 
Partnering with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), A.U.G. Signals Ltd. (AUG) initiated a new project for crop growth stage estimation technology for crop management and disease risk assessment using Earth Observation data.[1] The objective of this 18-month project is to develop robust growth stage (phenological state) estimation and key growth date prediction products to facilitate improved crop management, pest and disease mitigation and resource planning.
 
Application Concept: The project will advance development of a method to determine growth stage for a wide range of crops of importance to Canada (corn, soybeans, field peas, wheat, barley, canola etc.). The product will be developed by enhancing an effective growth stage estimation procedure based on technology previously developed by AUG and using space-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR), specifically RADARSAT-2 and TerraSAR-X polarimetric data.
 
Expected Results: The outcome from this successful AgriInnovation Program project will be an automated process to ingest satellite SAR and optical data for accurate growth stage estimation (measured as number of days since emergence), producing information which is temporally updated and capable of timely delivery in order to inform crop management decision-making and resource allocation. This project will expand and improve AUG’s earth observation capabilities, enhancing Canada’s expertise and international competitiveness in the agriculture sector and benefitting both large and small farming operations. Ultimately, this project will lead to a commercialized crop growth estimation tool that can support sustainable agriculture management and disease risk mitigation in Canada and around the globe.

 

 

[1] Funding for this project has been provided by the AgriInnovation Program’s Research and Development stream, under the Growing Forward 2 policy framework. / Les fonds pour ce projet proviennent du volet Recherche et développement du programme Agri-innovation, une initiative du cadre stratégique Cultivons l’avenir 2.