Researchers from Rutgers and Princeton are deploying remote sensors to assist farmers growing cranberries in the Pine Barrens, it was reported at the recent Princeton Ag Group meeting at the E-Quad. Remote sensing, whether by drone quad-rotor (foreground, minus rotors) or by lightweight drone plane (background), offers clear aerial views when and where researchers deploy the crafts. With satellite imaging, cloudcover, timing of orbit over the fields and cost are among the obstacles. In attendance, from left, Adam Wolf and Lyndon Estes, group organizer.

At the meeting, Professor Peter Oudemans from the Department of Plant Biology and Pathology at Rutgers University and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, discussed his years of work he has conducted with farmers looking to keep their cranberry fields healthy and increase crop production. See Professor Oudeman’s website here: http://pemaruccicenter.rutgers.edu/html/people_oudemans.html