Theses and Dissertations

Advisor

Musser, Fred R.

Committee Member

Towles, Tyler B.

Committee Member

Whittenton, Joseph B.

Committee Member

Merkl, Marvin E.

Date of Degree

5-16-2025

Original embargo terms

Immediate Worldwide Access

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Agricultural Life Sciences (Entomology)

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Department

Department of Agricultural Science and Plant Protection

Abstract

Insect scouting in soybean is a labor-intensive task but is needed throughout the season to minimize losses. When soybeans are tall, soils are wet, or soybeans are planted in narrow rows, walking through these fields can be difficult. To overcome these limitations of manual sampling, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sampling platform was developed that can collect insects in a sweep net attached to the bottom of a UAV. This system has been named the “Drone Insect Net Sampling System” (DINSS). Previous research with this system has shown positive correlations to traditional manual sampling methods. To improve this system, modifications were made in an attempt to increase insect counts per sample and to establish stronger positive correlations. However, none of the tested modifications increased the sample counts for any species. A second objective was to evaluate the impact of pilot and UAV on insect collection efficiency using the same DINSS system. Both pilot and UAV were significant factors in determining the number of insects caught per sample for the primary species collected. Since the time required to collect samples using DINSS was greater than manual methods, there were no measured advantages to DINSS compared to manual sweep net sampling.

Sponsorship (Optional)

Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board

Download

Included in

Entomology Commons

Share

COinS