Crop Scouting, also known as field scouting, is the action of traveling through a field of crops to identify problem areas. Farmers will be on the look out for anything that could be a potential hazard to the growing plant, including pests and plant diseases. If problems with the plants do appear during the growing season, the farmer will need to diminish the issue as soon as possible so that yield will not be affected come harvest time. If a plant does get a disease or is attacked by a hazardous pest, it can drastically limit the yield thus causing the potential profit to decrease. There are several different methods of crop scouting. Traditional methods include walking through the field and observing plants manually while taking field notes so the farmer can keep track of plants and areas that need more attention. Recently, GPS and UAV (drone usage) have become increasingly popular ways to field scout. These technological advances allow farmers to make notes and identify specific locations of where pests, poor soil temperature or moisture are located from a bird’s eye view. GPS and UAV’s eliminate the risk of human error and make it easier to compare problem areas from year to year.
For more information about crop scouting, please visit www.axisseed.com to locate your local IRC.