System and method for plant treatment

1. A plant treatment method comprising:

recording, by a camera mounted to a plant treatment system, an image of a plant in-situ in a geographic area during an operation session;

identifying, via a computing system, a plant feature of the plant for fluid treatment application to necrose the plant based on the recorded image, the plant feature being a junction between a support structure of the plant and a substrate supporting the plant;

identifying, via the computing system, a treatment position based on a position of the plant feature on the plant;

determining, via the computing system, a set of operation parameters for a treatment mechanism of the plant treatment system configured to apply the fluid treatment to achieve a target plant output parameter, the determining comprising:

determining a target output parameter for the plant to maximize crop yield over a geographic area based on the image of the plant in-situ in a geographic area; and

estimating an amount of indirect treatment of the plant based on a set of prior operation parameters for treatment of a second plant within the geographic area at a prior time point, the prior time point occurring during the operation session, and an ambient environmental parameter for the prior time point;

positioning the treatment mechanism such that an active area of the treatment mechanism is at the treatment position; and

necrosing the plant by automatically applying fluid treatment to the plant feature by operating the treatment mechanism in a treatment mode according to the set of operation parameters, wherein the plant is identified and the fluid treatment is applied during a single pass of the plant treatment system through a field.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ambient environmental parameter comprises a wind velocity vector.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the plant feature comprises:

recording a multispectral image of the plant;

analyzing the multispectral image to identify the plant feature; and

selecting a position superior the plant feature along a gravity vector as the treatment mechanism position.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a set of operation parameters for the treatment mechanism based on an estimated treatment effect of the fluid treatment on a growth parameter of each of a set of secondary plants within the geographic area and a target growth parameter for each secondary plant.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the set of secondary plants comprise plants estimated to be downwind from the plant at a time of liquid treatment application to the plant, wherein:

the growth parameter comprises crop yield, and the target growth parameter for each secondary plant is selected to maximize crop yield for the geographic area; and

the treatment effect is estimated based on an ambient wind speed.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein operating a treatment mechanism to apply a fluid treatment to a plant comprises controlling the treatment mechanism to spray the fluid treatment on the plant from the treatment mechanism position.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein controlling the treatment mechanism to spray the fluid treatment on the plant comprises forming droplets at a nozzle of the working fluid application device and charging each droplet within a predetermined threshold of a Rayleigh charge limit for the droplet.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the set of operation parameters for the treatment mechanism comprises adjusting an initial spray time and a spray duration based on the position of the plant feature.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fluid treatment is applied exclusively to the plant feature.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment position is the position of the plant feature on the plant.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the operation session describes a period of time during which the plant treatment system recorded the image of the plant in-situ in the geographic area.

12. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

record, by a camera mounted to a plant treatment system, an image of a plant in-situ in a geographic area during an operation session;

identify, via a computing system, a plant feature of the plant for fluid treatment application to necrose the plant based on the recorded image, the plant feature being a junction between a support structure of the plant and a substrate supporting the plant;

identify, via the computing system, a treatment position based on a position of the plant feature on the plant;

determine, via the computing system, a set of operation parameters for a treatment mechanism of the plant treatment system configured to apply the fluid treatment to achieve a target plant output parameter, the determining comprising:

determining a target output parameter for the plant to maximize crop yield over a geographic area based on the image of the plant in-situ in a geographic area; and

estimating an amount of indirect treatment of the plant based on a set of prior operation parameters for treatment of a second plant within the geographic area at a prior time point, the prior time point occurring during the operation session, and an ambient environmental parameter for the prior time point;

position the treatment mechanism such that an active area of the treatment mechanism is at the treatment position; and

necrose the plant by automatically applying fluid treatment to the plant feature by operating the treatment mechanism in a treatment mode according to the set of operation parameters, wherein the plant is identified and the fluid treatment is applied during a single pass of the plant treatment system through a field.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the ambient environmental parameter comprises a wind velocity vector.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the instructions for identifying the plant feature comprise instructions that cause the processor to:

record a multispectral image of the plant;

analyze the multispectral image to identify the plant feature; and

select a position superior the plant feature along a gravity vector as the treatment mechanism position.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions that cause the processor to determine a set of operation parameters for the treatment mechanism based on an estimated treatment effect of the fluid treatment on a growth parameter of each of a set of secondary plants within the geographic area and a target growth parameter for each secondary plant.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the set of secondary plants comprise plants estimated to be downwind from the plant at a time of liquid treatment application to the plant, wherein:

the growth parameter comprises crop yield, and the target growth parameter for each secondary plant is selected to maximize crop yield for the geographic area; and

the treatment effect is estimated based on an ambient wind speed.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the instructions for operating a treatment mechanism to apply a fluid treatment to a plant comprise instructions that cause the processor to control the treatment mechanism to spray the fluid treatment on the plant from the treatment mechanism position.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the instructions for selecting the set of operation parameters for the treatment mechanism comprise instructions that cause the processor to adjust an initial spray time and a spray duration based on the position of the plant feature.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the fluid treatment is applied exclusively to the plant feature.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the operation session describes a period of time during which the plant treatment system recorded the image of the plant in-situ in the geographic area.