Images 1 and 2: A side-by-side comparison showing damage to a corn field (left) and the same field, planted with peanuts (right) in 2022. Circled in red, in both images, are locations of wild pig damage. On the right, in peanuts, rooting can be seen via darker coloration in the soil up the planted row.
Drone flights can be easy, quick, and informative. Drones can be utilized for a wide variety of uses, including crop damage detection, damage to equipment, assessing crop health, and much more! Justine Smith, a wildlife ecology graduate student from the University of Georgia, is working on a study with the Jones Center at Ichauway to observe changes in wild pig damage to crops as reduction methods are implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Under the guidance of the National Feral Swine Damage Management Program, the USDA conducts reduction methods including night shooting, corral-style trapping, and aerial gunning. To determine the most cost-effective and time-saving method for landowners and other researchers to quantify and identify wild pig damage, Justine conducts drone surveys over agricultural fields from when crops are planted through their respective harvests.
Justine began flying a Matrice 100 with a Zenmuse X3 camera in the summer of 2021. The Matrice was flown over fourteen fields. Within each field, the drone flew three different sampling methods, including randomly placed waypoints, randomly placed transects, and circular flights, each at an elevation of two hundred and thirty feet. Each flight method is paired with their own pros and cons, such as how long each flight takes or how many batteries are needed for the drone to complete the flight. Flying all these various methods allows Justine to determine the best sampling method.
In the summer of 2022, field sampling was conducted with a Phantom 4 drone. Justine used the drone to fly the transects and repeat circular flights while adding some changes from 2021 sampling to sufficiently capture the entire field. Since crops were rotated, damage locations will be compared between the two years of sampling to determine if locations and the amount of damage are dependent on the crop.
From last year’s flights, and what has been flown thus far in 2022, changes were made to some observations. The data is still being processed, but it has been noticed that peanuts are subjected to heavy damage immediately after planting. Later in the season, unless significant damage occurs, such as an entire row getting eaten, historical damage is more difficult to detect. This is due to the low-growing characteristics of peanuts versus tall cotton or corn. For corn, while it is also damaged soon after planting, significant amounts of damage does not occur until the cobs have developed as wild pigs will push and stomp down stalks to access the cobs. Damage decreases when the corn dries out prior to harvest. For cotton, regarding wild pigs, the crop remains untouched. Damage to peanuts and corn, especially later in the season, was favored in areas that were close to a forest edge or the edge of another field.
In short, drones can be used for a wide variety of studies! This study, under the guidance of the National Feral Swine Damage Management Program, is determining the most cost-effective and time-saving method to quantify and identify wild pig damage. We look forward to learning the results of this study!
Image 3: Justine Smith is preparing to conduct field sampling with a Phantom 4 drone.
To learn more about the Jones Center, visit their website. To contact the Georgia Feral Swine Partnership or to learn more information, visit Georgia Feral Swine. The Albany Area Feral Swine Control and Eradication Pilot Project is led by the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District.
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement number NR204310XXXXG001.