Each year, the ISRC funds soybean-related projects after receiving feedback on research priorities from the ISRC industry advisory council. The council is made up of representatives from the ISA and the center’s industry partners. Below is information on a project that received funding and support from the center for fiscal years 2020-2021.

Hyperspectral Imaging for Early Detection of Herbicide-Resistant Weeds in Soybean

Prashant Jha, associate professor of agronomy and extension weed specialist for Iowa State University, received funding from the ISRC for his project titled, “Hyperspectral Imaging for Early Detection of Herbicide-Resistant Weeds in Soybean.” Jha collaborated with the Optics and Electrical Engineering programs at Montana State University. While all experiments and imaging were conducted at Iowa State, data processing and machine-learning algorithms were developed at MSU.

First steps of the project were to conduct greenhouse and laboratory experiments to identify spectral reflectance of different biotypes of waterhemp plants resistant to ALS inhibitors, atrazine, and/or glyphosate herbicides using ground-based hyperspectral imaging. In summer 2021, he used a hyperspectral camera mounted onto a drone to collect hyperspectral data in soybean fields with confirmed herbicide-resistant waterhemp populations. Images were analyzed to differentiate waterhemp from other weed species and to identify susceptible vs. resistant waterhemp biotypes. A neural network machine-learning algorithm was used to develop classification images for field-scale maps.

Jha’s concludes that results indicate hyperspectral imaging and neural networks hold promise for early detection of herbicide-resistant weed biotypes in soybean production fields, especially glyphosate-resistant biotypes. This will ultimately lead to development of UAV-based weed maps for timely implementation of integrated weed management (IWM) programs for managing herbicide-resistant weeds in crop production fields.

Last fall, this project received additional funding of $752,518 through a USDA-NRCS-CIG grant for a multi-state (ISU, Texas A&M and NC State) project on 3-D classification and mapping of weeds in corn and soybean fields to fight herbicide-resistant weeds.

Jha’s final report for the ISRC-funded project may be found under Research on the ISRC's website.