We’re right in the heart of Summer, and horticulturists are gearing up for their busiest season yet. While gardening is still a primarily manual enterprise, workers operating on expansive landscapes can benefit from using drone software. Pinpoint problem areas and invasive species from your office, determine plant health and stress, or create 3D models of your property with drone technology. With geotagged maps and precise photogrammetry, those in garden management can save time, money, and resources by identifying issues early and adapting plans to these solutions.
Large-Scale Planning and Analysis
While likely impractical for the gardening hobbyist, workers covering vast landscapes can use drones to monitor their land in a fraction of the time it takes to walk the area manually. Using software like DroneDeploy’s Live Map allows you to survey the entire terrain quickly and easily in-app, while the drone does all the work for you. Plan out your map beforehand, and with a push of a button, gather real-time insights into your landscaping operations. With this complete, data-rich map, gardeners can make informed decisions on where to plant, add fertilizer, or remove tree roots or branches.
Thermal Live Map adds to this process by showing workers real-time plant health data - including plant stress, ripeness, soil health, and growth. By utilizing Plant Health layers, workers can dive even deeper into the health of their land by adjusting the contrast to highlight variability across the selected area, which later helps predict yields. Both of these features also help identify irrigation issues through infrared technology, saving money and water with continuous sprinkler monitoring.
Automatically-enabled Terrain Awareness is helpful when flying over hilly areas of your site. This uniform resolution makes analysis and drone flight even more accessible and accurate. Users can also create 3D models by enabling the feature on their flight plan. 3D modeling assists in planning garden designs or planting seed patterns. Additionally, this is a great tool to use when interacting with clients, showing progress, re-shaping landscapes, or visualizing the final result.
The Future of Gardening
Today, garden-specific drones are being developed to pollinate plants, fire seed pods, and fertilize plants. While the hardware isn’t commonplace yet, drone software for gardeners is. This technology helps landscapers plan their operations, vet problems, and optimize processes. Drones also eliminate the need for multiple tools and cords. DroneDeploy can assist workers by providing information on plant health, thermal data, and 3D modeling. If you’re interested in using DroneDeploy, start your free trial, download our eBook on enhancing agricultural operations, or read some of our agriculture success stories.
