Farmers and agronomists can reportedly generate high-precision prescription maps within hours when conventional satellite images fail due to cloud cover with an entry-level drone.
Developed by Czech startup Skymaps, the CultiWise software is said to provide a yield benefit of up to 20%, with a possible return on investment in the first season. It is available to CultiWise subscribers, starting at 5 Euros per hectare. Optional CultiWise drones start at 4,200 Euros.
Skymaps chief technology officer, Komel Cziria, said: “With the new CultiWise feature and compact drone, farmers can capture the field data instantly and start spraying the same day.”
The CultiWise drone offers mapping for more than 200ha per flight hour and centimetre-level accuracy, a requirement when targeting crop zones. By using either multispectral or RGB cameras images can be generated, uploaded, and converted into application maps for variable rate and spot spraying. Furthermore, drone cameras can capture more detail than satellites, eliminating soil interference. This provides a clearer assessment of crop health, particularly useful in early growth stages and for wide-row crops.
CultiWise engineers developed the software using data from hundreds of European farms. The system supports all main crops, including wheat, soybean, sugar beet, sunflowers, rapeseed, potatoes and onions.
