Eyes in the Sky: A new perspective on research from the air
Friday, December 19, 2025
Media Contact: Sophia Fahleson | Digital Communications Specialist | 405-744-7063 | sophia.fahleson@okstate.edu
Drone technology research is helping to improve the lives of farmers and ranchers across Oklahoma by allowing them to pin-point possible issues and provide a faster response.
Phil Alderman, agricultural systems modeling research assistant professor, leads the drone technology research for the Oklahoma State University wheat breeding program.
Joining the program in 2022, Alderman’s research builds numerical models to examine how different crops grow in various conditions.
Brett Carver, OSU Regents Professor and wheat genetics chair, identified the need for the drones, so researchers would be able to systematically measure, analyze and characterize the observable traits of the crops for research purposes, Alderman said.
“My focus is on providing traits and things that are going to benefit breeders,” Alderman said. “We are aiming to do research that is directly relevant for the OSU wheat breeding program.”
The drones help identify key traits in the wheat that are beneficial for the growth of the crop under a wide range of conditions, he said.
The key traits we focus on are plant height, disease ratings, early vigor, and senescence dynamics, said Sanju Shrestha, third-year crop science doctoral student working in the program with Alderman.
“With the drone technology, we can rapidly go out and collect imagery over an area and convert it into a series of images throughout the season,” Alderman said. “It then shows us a set of traits that describe the growth of the crop that will allow breeders to be able to select among those and say, ‘This is a winning breeding line.’”
The drones stand out because of their advances in imaging technology, Shrestha said.
The drones allow the research team to survey the fields in a more efficient and thorough way than traditional methods, Shrestha said.
“These drones are equipped with advanced sensors,” Shrestha said, “such as multispectral and hyperspectral cameras, which go beyond the range of human sight.”
These drones are equipped with high-resolution RGB cameras, Shrestha said, which allows them to capture photographic details. Precise GPS systems ensure accurate mapping and repeatable flight paths, she added.
“Sensors pick up variation in light reflected by plants at multiple wavelengths, which means they can detect crop stress, diseases and nutrient deficiencies long before these issues become visible to the naked eye,” Shrestha said.
Most people use drones as a way of layering different kinds of information, specifically for precision mapping, Alderman said. However, another added benefit is identifying areas of the field with issues, he said.
“Drones help us to see if things are deviating from what is expected or if everything is going as planned,” Alderman said.
Drone technology is not just reserved for universities or big operations, said Brian Arnall, plant and soil sciences professor and precision nutrient management Extension specialist. Arnall helps Oklahoma farmers and ranchers apply off-the-shelf drone technology in their own operations.
“I try to figure out how we can most quickly help farmers and ranchers use drone technology on their operations,” Arnall said.
By using drones, producers save valuable time identifying where potential issues exist, he said.
“We are trying to account for those factors quantitatively, using math to capture those processes,” Alderman said. “Then, what we do once we have those models is to project them out.”
The research team’s primary work over the last few years focuses on identifying key traits of the crop through the drone images and figuring out the issue as well as the solution, Alderman said.
“Agricultural systems modelers typically receive data from others and then make sense of it,” Alderman said. “One major retooling within the research is becoming aware of these issues that relate before we have any data to work with.”
Bringing this kind of imagery and remote sensing data helps provide information to the wheat breeder, Alderman said. Whether the treatment is to apply top dress, fungicide or insecticide, the information is there for their benefit to be able to attack the problem, he added.
“We may or may not be able to detect with accuracy what is causing the problem,” Alderman said. “But, we can tell there is a problem and where it is in the field.”
The research team asks questions: “What if we did this to the crop?” “What if we did something different?” or “What if it was a dry year?” Alderman added.
All these questions help with the research and coming up with a solution, he said.
“We are scientists, too, not just technicians, right?” Alderman said. “We are interested in identifying these things and then publishing so other breeding programs or groups can benefit from the knowledge generated.”
Story by: Rianna Chaney | Cowboy Journal