SBIR-STTR Award

There is a need for a simple, cost-effective procedure for making accurate estimates of crop residue in agricultural fields. The objective of this Phase I effort is to conduct the research required to design a light-weight, affordable hand-held spectral radiometer and associated spectral algorithm for quickly making field estimates of percent crop residue cover. The specific tasks that will be addressed in order to meet project objectives are: 1) the development of a high spectral resolution data set of reflectance measurements of a national sample of soils and crop residues; 2) an assessment of the optimal spectral regions for assessing crop residue cover, as well as an assessment of the general form of a spectral algorithm using these spectral bands; and 3) a preliminary assessment of hardware opportunities and constraints in building a cost-effective crop residue radiometer.

Anticipated Results/Potential Commercial Applications of Research:
: It is anticipated that the results of this Phase I effort will lead to the development of preliminary specifications for a cost-effective field portable spectral radiometer for measuring percent cover of crop residue in agricultural fields. The potential commercial users of this device include agribusiness companies and individual farmers. The potential federal users of this device include the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Environmental Protection Agency and scientists doing research on global change.

There is a need for a simple cost-effective procedure for making accurate estimates of crop residues in agricultural fields. The objective of this Phase II effort is to design, build and test a prototype crop residue spectral radiometer that will implement the crop residue spectral metric which was successfully developed in Phase I. The prototype crop residue radiometer will be designed to be inexpensive, lightweight and easy to transport and use in the field. It will be tested to show its performance in estimating the crop residue percent cover in agricultural fields, both for fresh crop residue and for residue after winter weathering. Its performance will be assessed for a variety of soil types and conditions and for a variety of crop residue types and conditions at several USDA and other sites.Applications:It is anticipated that the results of this project will demonstrate the feasibility to build and effectively utilize a field portable, cost-effective spectral radiometer for making estimates of percent crop residue over a broad range of soil and crop residue types and conditions. The potential commercial users of this device include agribusiness companies, and industrial farmers. The potential federal users of this device include USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service scientists, and approximately 2,500 field offices, as well as Environmental Protection Agency personnel, and scientists doing research on global change related to land degradation.