Remote sensing multivariate cropland management apparatus and method of use thereof comprising crop health data set and crop management recommendations

1. A method for managing cropland comprising the steps of:

digitally and wirelessly linking a remote sensing platform to a ground based communication system;

spatially resolving into a set of locations an m×n ground matrix using both optics and detectors of the remote sensing platform, where m and n comprise positive integers of at least one hundred;

using the remote sensor platform, optically measuring for each member of the spatially resolved set of locations:

first reflected cropland radiation, in a first range of 400 to 1,100 nm, in at least two non-overlapping wavelength regions using the remote sensing platform;

second reflected cropland radiation in a second range of 700 to 2500 nm; and

emitted radiation, in a third range of 2,500 to 12,000 nm;

generating a crop health data set of the spatially resolved set of locations and the associated first reflected cropland radiation, the second cropland radiation, and the emitted radiation;

repeating said steps of spatially resolving and optically measuring to update the crop health data set at least every four days during a period of at least one month;

analyzing the crop health data set to yield a crop health analysis comprising specific crop management recommendations for each element of the spatially resolved set of locations; and

communicating the specific crop management recommendations to a farm treatment system.

2. The method of claim 1 , said step of optically measuring for each set of locations further comprising the steps of:

measuring chlorophyll indirectly using at least one non-green wavelength shorter than 620 nm and at least one near-infrared wavelength; and

measuring crop hydration using at least two wavelength resolved and separated wavelength regions in a range of 700 to 2,500 nm, said step of measuring chlorophyll indirectly using a first two-dimensional detector array and said step of optically measuring emitted radiation using a second two-dimensional detector array.

3. The method of claim 2 , said set of measuring chlorophyll indirectly further comprising the step of:

comparing first light in a range of 480 to 500 nm with second light greater than 700 nm.

4. The method of claim 2 , further comprising the step of:

calculating a crop stress metric using the crop health data, said step of calculating the crop stress metric comprising the steps of:

using a daytime readings of the set of locations in a range of 8,000 to 12,000 nm; and

using a nighttime readings of the set of locations in a range of 8,000 to 12,000 nm.

5. The method of claim 4 , said step of optically measuring further comprising the steps of:

gathering first data for the crop health data set using a satellite; and

updating the first data for the crop health data set using a drone.

6. The method of claim 1 , said step of analyzing further comprising the step of:

generating a crop stress metric using the crop health data, said crop stress metric comprising a temperature related deviation between the analyzed signal and at least one of: a reference healthy crop temperature related signal and a reference bare soil temperature related signal.

7. The method of claim 6 , said step of generating the crop stress metric, further comprising the step of:

using a daytime reading of a member of the set of locations and a nighttime reading of the member of the set of locations.

8. The method of claim 6 , said step of generating the crop stress metric, further comprising the steps of:

using a daytime reading of a member of the set of locations in a range of 8,000 to 12,000 nm; and

using a non-daytime reading of the member of the set of locations in a range of 8,000 to 12,000 nm.

9. The method of claim 6 , said step of analyzing further comprising the steps of:

determining a crop type using the crop health data set;

determining a lifetime period of the crop type using the crop health data set; and

adjusting the crop health analysis using the crop type and the lifetime period.

10. The method of claim 1 , said step of optically measuring further comprising the steps of:

gathering first data for the crop health data set using a satellite; and

gathering second data for the crop health data set using a drone.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising the step of:

the farm treatment system implementing at least a portion of the specific crop management recommendations.

12. The method of claim 1 , said step of analyzing the crop health data set further comprising the step of:

using a model to determine a metric of extent of deviation of a combination of data from the crop health data set relative to the combination of data from a reference data set.

13. The method of claim 12 , said step of analyzing, further comprising the step of:

using the metric to generate a quantitative value for at least one element of the specific crop management recommendations.

14. The method of claim 12 , said step of analyzing the crop health data set further comprising the step of:

using a model to determine a temperature related metric of extent of deviation of a combination of data from the crop health data set relative to the combination of data from a reference data set.

15. The method of claim 14 , said step of analyzing, further comprising the step of:

using the metric to generate a quantitative value for at least one element of the specific crop management recommendations.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising the step of:

the farm treatment system implementing at least a portion of the specific crop management recommendations.

17. The method of claim 16 , the step of repeating said steps of spatially resolving and optically measuring further comprising the step of:

using a constellation of satellites and a drone.

18. The method of claim 17 , the step of repeating said steps of spatially resolving and optically measuring further comprising the step of:

using a drone.

19. An apparatus for managing cropland comprising:

a remote sensing platform digitally and wirelessly linked to a ground based communication system, said remote sensing platform configured to:

spatially resolve into a set of locations an m×n ground matrix using both optics and detectors of the remote sensing platform, where m and n comprise positive integers of at least one hundred;

optically measure for each member of the spatially resolved set of locations:

first reflected cropland radiation, in a first range of 400 to 1,100 nm, in at least two non-overlapping wavelength regions using the remote sensing platform;

second reflected cropland radiation in a second range of 700 to 2,500 nm; and

emitted radiation, in a third range of 2,500 to 12,000 nm;

generate a crop health data set of the spatially resolved set of locations and the associated first reflected cropland radiation, the second cropland radiation, and the emitted radiation; and

repeat said steps of spatially resolving and optically measuring to update the crop health data set at least daily during a period of at least one month;

an analyzer configured to analyze the crop health data set to yield a crop health analysis comprising specific crop management recommendations for each element of the spatially resolved set of locations;

a communicator configured to communicate the specific crop management recommendations to a farm treatment system, wherein the farm treatment system implements at least one of the specific crop management recommendations on the cropland.