Exploring Uses of Tractor-Mounted Plant Health Sensors to Evaluate Cotton Growth and Insect Injury in Small Plots

Uses of a tractor-mounted Plant Health Sensor developed by USDA ARS were evaluated in two small plot experiments at Corpus Christi, Texas in 2013. Comparing conventional and minimum till cotton, differences in plant height (using a sonar sensor) and NDVI was associated with treatments and also plot location (using a 4-band optimal sensor). Comparing water stress and cotton fleahopper injury, we observed differences in plant height but not NDVI.