Ground-based sensing system for weed mapping in cotton

A ground-based weed mapping system was developed to measure weed intensity and distribution in a cotton field. The weed mapping system includes WeedSeeker® PhD600 sensor modules to indicate the presence of weeds between rows, a GPS receiver to provide spatial information, and a data acquisition and processing unit to collect and process the weed data and spatial information. The PhD600 sensor module is a commercial product used as a component in this weed mapping system. A prototype of the weed mapping system was field evaluated for 2 years. The system performed well during the field evaluation. Weed intensity in the field was also estimated based on remotely sensed imagery, and these estimates were used to create weed maps. Development of the weed mapping system and its evaluation results are reported in this article.