The potato plant is often considered as a drought-sensitive crop and its sustainable production is threatened due to frequent drought episodes. There has been much research aiming to understand the physiological, biochemical, and genetic basis of drought tolerance in potato as a basis for improving production under drought conditions.

by Tudor Vintiloiu

Climate change is expected to exacerbate drought events throughout the world, resulting in large-scale ecosystem alteration and failure of drought-sensitive crops. In addition, periods of drought vary from year to year in severity and length, making it difficult for plants to adapt to more severe conditions.

Potatoes are seen as a cool weather crop that require about an inch of water a week to produce the highest possible yield. There are two main reasons that potatoes are more sensitive to water stress than most other crops:

A shallow root system: Potatoes have a relatively shallow root system with most of the roots in the top 12 inches of soil.

Soil type: potatoes do well in sands and sandy loams, soils that have low to medium water-holding capacity.

High yields of high-quality potatoes can only be achieved by maintaining high levels of available soil moisture throughout the growing season. Without regular rainfall, frequent irrigation is necessary. Soil moisture becomes critical when the available soil water drops below 60-65%. The impact of water stress will depend on the severity, timing and duration of moisture stress.

Modern Monitoring Tools

One of the ways in which farmers can assess the heat stress levels of the plants so that timely decisions can be made is through the use of drone imaging. The most common role of drones in agriculture is as remote sensing platforms to assess and monitor crops, but emerging agricultural applications include precision distribution of chemicals and biological control agents.

By implementing drone technology, farms and agriculture businesses can improve crop yields, save time, and make land management decisions that will improve long-term success.

One of the great advantages of drone technology is the effectiveness of large-scale crop and acreage monitoring. Today, growers can not only obtain real-time footage but also time-based animations, which can illuminate crop progression in real-time.