A great article on Next Big Future about drones and precision farming pointing out the results of using this process to manage nitrogen alone are seeing an increase of income per acre from both decreased expenditures and increased crop performance.  The practice uses multispectral imagery, combined with other traditional testing methods, to identify how much seed, fertilizer or other crop supporting products to use in a given field zone.  

As much as drones are getting bad press, automated crop care seems like a future worth targeting.  We've seen plenty of proof the technology will scale down as far as sales can push them.  Will they scale to a single plant or even section of plant?

Will they be able to actively identify crop damage, whether from fungus or insects?  If so, can they efficiently (from both a speed of response and cost effective measurement) target small areas or individual plants with food, fertilizer and water?

Thoughts on where, how and why this research might scale or morph?  Drop it in the comments below.

Drones and Precision Farming via Next Big Future