NNU students participate in annual Pomology Fruit Field Day

On September 14, Assistant Professor Dr. Duke Bulanon in NNU’s Department of Physics and Engineering, along with  two junior engineering students, Mark Horton of Nyssa, Ore. and Paulo Salvador, Sao Paulo, Brazil, participated in the annual Pomology Fruit Field Day at the University of Idaho Parma Research and Extension Center.

Joined by Governor Otter, Idaho legislators and other academia, attendees learned how NNU engineering students and University of Idaho research students have been working on agricultural remote sensing projects to help farmers understand how crops are reacting to a variety of conditions.

The team from NNU is working to equip a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) with a multispectral imaging sensor that will capture images in both visible and near-infrared bands. These special images will allow farmers to see invisible changes in how a plant reflects light when it undergoes water stress, nitrogen deficiency or disease infestation, immediately showing growers exactly what changes are needed to produce a healthy crop.

Dr. Bulanon and the NNU students will continue their research in November as part of an $84,000 grant that was received through the Idaho State Department.

Photo caption: Dr. Bulanon, Gov. Otter, Paulo Salvador and Mark Horton