PJTAU proposes SAR-based crop monitoring system
The project aims to deploy Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data for the precise estimation of crop areas across the state. Minister Rao stated that such pre-season estimations will enhance the effective implementation of government schemes and enable more responsive policy decisions. He directed university scientists to prepare and execute the technology-based assessment plan by August–September, assuring full government support and funding for its implementation.
University scientists highlighted their ongoing experiments in collaboration with a Swiss company, demonstrating the effectiveness of SAR-based crop recording during the rainy seasons across multiple states. The precision achieved through SAR imagery enables the accurate tracking of crop distribution, even under dense cloud cover—a significant limitation in traditional satellite methods.
The review meeting explored future possibilities in agriculture, particularly focusing on how sensor technologies could help forecast pest attacks in advance. Minister Rao recommended that PJTAU (Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University) begin field trials on various crops starting this season. Researchers highlighted that data generated by sensors allows for earlier detection and targeted pest control, outperforming traditional satellite systems in terms of responsiveness and detail.
As the state prepares to implement a new crop insurance scheme, the minister urged PJTAU to develop and distribute comprehensive technical guidelines to support effective policy implementation and enhance farmer awareness. The integration of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) and sensor data will be crucial for risk assessment and claims processing under the forthcoming insurance framework.
The review included Dr. Sameerendu Mohanty, Professor of Practice; Dr. T.L. Neelima, Scientist; Dr. Y. Balaram, Research Director; and Dr. B. Balaji Nayak, Director of the Digital Agriculture Center. The proposed innovations represent a significant advancement in digitizing agriculture in Telangana. With scientific expertise and policy alignment, PJTAU's roadmap could transform how crop data is recorded, analyzed, and utilized, benefiting both farmers and agricultural planners, according to the participating experts from the university.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Agri research crucial for food security: ICAR chief
1 2 Hyderabad: India must invest at least 1% of its agricultural GDP in research and innovation to drive reforms and keep pace with global trends, said Mangilal Jat, the newly appointed director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Speaking at the 55th convocation of Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University on Saturday, Jat said that strengthening agricultural research is vital for improving productivity and ensuring food and nutritional security. "Despite being one of the world's largest agricultural producers, India's investment in agri-research remains low. Many countries invest a minimum of 2%; we are lagging behind," he said. He emphasised the need for science-driven innovation that reaches every farmer and called for multidisciplinary research, the establishment of a second gene bank, and greater utilisation of ICT tools and big data. He also underscored the importance of inclusive policies that address gender and social diversity. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad Addressing the gathering, university chancellor and governor Jishnu Dev Varma cited successful outreach initiatives such as 'Rythu Mungitlo Sastravethalu', which engaged over 1.2 lakh farmers across 1,200 villages in Telangana. "We've promoted practices such as reduced urea use, water conservation, and crop diversification," he said. At the convocation, degrees were awarded to approximately 830 students from the 2021–22 academic year, and around 30 students received gold medals for academic excellence. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !
The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
How would NISAR expand our understanding of the Earth?
How would NISAR expand our understanding of the Earth? On July 30, the India-US space collaboration crossed a historic milestone with the successful launch of NISAR, or the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite, a flagship earth observation mission jointly developed by the two nations' space programmes. It is the first satellite to use radars of two frequencies — the L-band radar by NASA and the S-band radar by ISRO — to continuously monitor the earth's surface. NISAR is expected to provide unprecedented data on land deformation, ice-sheet dynamics, forest biomass, and natural disasters like earthquakes and floods. With its high-resolution, all-weather, day-night imaging capabilities, NISAR aims to enhance climate resilience, agricultural monitoring, and disaster response. Beyond science, NISAR also holds commercial promise to enable new data services, geospatial analytics, and early-warning systems across sectors such as insurance, infrastructure, and agriculture. Guest: Dr. Karen St. Germain, director of the Earth Science Division at the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Hosts: Mukunth V, Deputy Science Editor, The Hindu Kunal Shankar, Deputy Business Editor, The Hindu Video edited by Shivaraj S Audio edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Listen to more In Focus podcasts:
India Today
2 days ago
- India Today
What will Nisar look for in space? Project scientist who designed it answers
What will Nisar be looking at in space? In simple terms: nearly everything that matters for Earth's survival, from the slow grind of tectonic plates to the vanishing breath of forests, from swelling seas to invisible carbon shifts in the Nasa-Isro Synthetic Aperture Radar (Nisar) satellite is a first-of-its-kind Earth observation mission that's ready to monitor climate change, carbon emissions, and natural disaster patterns with unprecedented $1.3 billion satellite was launched by Isro from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Thursday. In an exclusive interview, Paul Rosen, Project Scientist at Nasa, explained why Nisar is different — both in design and purpose — from anything humanity has launched before.'Nisar carries two powerful radars,' Rosen says, 'one built by Nasa and the other by Isro. This dual radar system allows us to scan vast swaths of the Earth every 12 days and build almost cinematic, three-dimensional time-lapse maps of changes happening to glaciers, forests, and coastlines.'What enables this high-resolution monitoring is Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) — a technology Rosen calls "almost magical." Instead of relying on visible light like a regular camera, SAR sends microwave pulses toward Earth and collects echoes. While each pulse has low resolution on its own, the satellite processes thousands of such echoes to synthetically create the effect of a massive antenna — giving it the ability to "see" Earth's surface in detail as fine as 5 to 10 meters. India's GSLV launches with Nisar mission. (Photo: Isro) And this radar doesn't blink. 'Unlike optical satellites,' Rosen explains, 'SAR works in all weather, day or night. It's ideal for imaging forest fires, floods, or earthquakes — even when clouds or smoke obscure the ground.'The mission also has sharp scientific priorities: monitoring ice sheets, sea ice, agricultural patterns, wetland flooding, and especially above-ground carbon variability. According to Rosen, 'One of our key goals is to help carbon modellers better understand how much carbon is stored and released by forests and crops. That's crucial for fighting climate change.'Another groundbreaking application is in tracking tectonic plate movements. Using a technique called radar interferometry, Nisar can detect ground shifts as small as a few millimeters, allowing scientists to monitor stress accumulation along fault lines. 'We'll be able to map the Earth's motion before and after earthquakes and improve models for future risk,' Rosen hardware behind this mission is just as ambitious. A massive, unfolding radar reflector mounted on a boom enables the wide-angle scans, and the satellite combines S-band (built by Isro) and L-band (from Nasa) radar frequencies — a world-first for free-flying space collaboration between Nasa and Isro, Rosen says, has been one of the mission's highlights. 'Isro brings unmatched experience in turning data into real-world applications. We learned a lot from them, and they from us. It's been deeply rewarding.'With subsystems already being activated, Nisar is expected to become fully operational within weeks. Once live, it will provide scientists and governments with real-time insights into Earth's evolving systems — from the fragile crust beneath us to the living carbon engines above.- EndsMust Watch
