Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the standardization of UAS/drone…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the standardization of UAS/drone spray applications is important as there is no such information available in the US. These technological advancements will bring transformative changes to the application of UAS for pest management which is currently limited to only mapping and classification. We would like to provide this as an additional tool for weed management in cucurbit crops (specifically, watermelon), as IT has been already proved better than conventional spray technologies in row-crops (corn and soybean), based on our preliminary results.once these spray technologies are standardized, IT will open new opportunities to automate mapping and spray applications and integration of other artificial intelligence modules to assist smart farming operations. Application of these technologies are not limited to one or two crops, these can be extended for standardization to other vine crops (pumpkin, squash, cucumber, cantaloupe etc.) where herbicide applications through ground-based tractors are not an option at later stages when crop vines cover inter-row spaces. The major advantage of this technology lies in the option to spray under wet soil conditions, providing higher efficacy at later crop growth stage, controlling weeds overlapped by crop plants, spot spray applications, and reducing herbicide usage. The project proposal is in direct alignment with the priority indicated by southern IPM. The current proposal addresses three priorities of the southern IPM; 1) project that addresses critical IPM issues resulting from changes in agricultural system management (e.g. new technologies, etc), 2) pest priorities on weed management to deal with palmer amaranth, common ragweed, and herbicide resistance issues, along with, 3) IPM evaluation tools for IPM programs to help produce outcomes with value to the public - (outcomes likely to produce positive economic, environmental and human health benefits). T